Forget Me Nots
by growthbeyondreason
Summary: Sasuke comes back from his six year defection and wishes to melt back into Konoha monotony. A succession of events prevent any such thing and a present he finds plagues his mind. SasuHina. AU as of bloody chapter 385. HIATUS & UNDER REVISION TIL ...October 2034.
1. Prologue One

Disclaimer: Characters are the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. You know the deal.

* * *

The head of the Uchiha Clan stood tall, his family standing behind him. Facing him was Hyuuga Hiashi, his stern features emotionless as he gazed around him.

"Hyuuga."

"Uchiha."

"It is a pleasure to welcome you to our home."

"I am honoured."

"Of course, the circumstances of this meeting are unfortunate. I regret the death of the young Hyuuga."

Hyuuga Hiashi gave a curt nod and gazed steadily around him.

"As do I regret the involvement the Uchiha play in it," he said, turning back to face Uchiha Fugaku.

The small figure of Sasuke stood beside his mother, eagerly watching the delegation of Hyuuga cross the threshold into the Uchiha compound. Sasuke looked back up at his father and felt a swelling of pride. However much Hyuuga Hiashi scared him, he didn't scare his father. As the delegation passed and Sasuke's mother bowed slightly to greet Hiashi, Sasuke noticed the little girl attached to her father. She was shorter than him, and her short hair came down in long bangs beside her face. She averted her gaze and her small hand came up to her face. Sasuke cocked his head slightly to one side, the way his mother would when Sasuke did something she couldn't decipher.

Hiashi stopped then, noticing Sasuke and he bent down slightly to release the girl's hold on his clothes.

"Hinata, stay here. I will be back after a moment."

She reluctantly stayed in her place, watching forlornly after her father as he left with Sasuke's father. She looked oddly vulnerable, the absence of the tall presence of her father making her seem smaller and fragile.

"Sasuke, look after Hinata-chan will you? I must make tea," Uchiha Makoto said to Sasuke. He looked up at her, his disgruntled face telling her that he wasn't interested in looking after a girl for what might be quite awhile.

Members of the Hyuuga and Uchiha clan had recently been involved in a dispute, which had resulted in a short but vicious battle between the lower houses causing the death of a Hyuuga shinobi. The animosity between the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans was discreet at most but would occasionally reach a boiling point especially between the servants or lower houses of the clans. Alliances had often been made and broken and in an attempt to once again restore peace and thus keep harmony inside Konoha, Hyuuga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku had agreed on a meeting.

"I want to go into the meeting!" said Sasuke, jumping up and holding on to Makoto's sleeve.

"You know that is quite impossible. And don't even think about trying to listen in, do you understand?" said Makoto, sliding Sasuke's grip easily off her yukata. She smiled and nodded towards Hinata before walking away.

As other Uchiha dispersed, the courtyard was suddenly very empty and there were only two small children.

Sasuke turned around, an eyebrow elegantly cocked as he watched the girl. He was proud of the expression. He had copied it in front of the mirror for days after his brother had given him that look when Sasuke had challenged him to a fight to the death.

She was still standing in her place, her hands to her mouth.

"Are you going to just stand there until Hyuuga-sama comes back?" he asked rather sharply.

She dropped her hands quickly, and tried to look Sasuke in the eye but quickly diverted her eyes again. Sasuke's brow furrowed and he walked slowly towards the girl. Her eyes grew wide and she began to move away and Sasuke reached out to grab her but she dodged and ran ahead.

"Hey wait!"

He ran after her again and she practically shot from him. He tried again to grab her but he tripped slightly and fell flat on his face.

Hinata turned around, her eyes fearful, remembering what her father had said about never having your back to the enemy.

The sight of an extremely vexed Sasuke would have normally frightened Hinata out of her wits especially if that expression was worn on her father or her cousin Neji, but at that moment with Sasuke on the floor, Hinata let out a giggle.

"Hey! What are you laughing at?" yelled out Sasuke, pulling himself up. He made another effort to grab hold of her, but she let out a small shriek and ran off again. As he chased her around the courtyard, Hinata began to giggle again, the prospect of being caught not overly scary now. As she began to laugh, Sasuke quickly caught on and began to giggle as well.

* * *

" The ties between Uchiha and Hyuuga have not always been…amiable. The events in the past days have been a display of the deterioration of the old alliance between the two greatest clans in Konoha. We wish to proffer our condolences and resolve the death of your kinsman and any misunderstandings between us," said Fugaku, seated opposite Hyuuga Hiashi and the elders of their clan.

"Yes, the resolving of this tragedy is of great import at this moment. The Hyuuga wish especially to discover the cause of this discord amongst us. The fact is, the death of one of our talented shinobi seems a high price for something so trivial."

One of the Hyuuga elders had spoken and Fugaku saw that he was blind in both eyes.

"Trivial? Not so much. The reports I was given disclosed that the shinobi in question did not cooperate with Uchiha members of the Konoha Military Police and the ensuing brawl was the outcome of this."

"The boy was ANBU. The Military Police have no jurisdiction on what the ANBU do," said Hiashi, his deep voice ringing slightly in the small room.

" He was not dressed as ANBU, our officers would have had no idea and the boy did not reveal it at any time. The 'timely' arrival of other Hyuuga also caused some suspicions."

Hiashi's white eyes flashed dangerously.

"What are you insinuating?"

Fugaku feigned a benign face and did not reply.

"Do you think this was some kind of scheme? Hyuuga are above common brawls with lowly officers. What was implied to me by witnesses at the scene, was that the boy was provoked and attacked for no apparent reason."

Fugaku scowled slightly.

" The Military Police are the law-keepers in Konoha. We uphold justice. Our officers would not have attacked an innocent bystander. The Hyuuga gave reason for an inquiry and it was acted upon."

Several of the Hyuuga elders scoffed and Fugaku felt his brother beside him bristle in indignation for their disbelief.

"Spare me the bigotry, Uchiha. It has long been known that the Uchiha inside the Military Police have often acted of their own accord and have gone unpunished. The unwarranted act of violence against a Hyuuga from Uchiha is an outrage and punishment should be handed out to the perpetrators!"

"And it has long been known that the Hyuuga are jealous of the increasing power and growth of the Uchiha inside Konoha. The archaic traditions of the Hyuuga are in demise and the power of its kekkai genkai in slow decline!" growled Uchiha Teyaki, Fugaku's brother.

Two of the younger Hyuuga sitting to the side of Hiashi, sat up and the veins around their eyes bulged as they scowled angrily.

"The Sharingan is the inferior by-product of a mutation in the Byakugan. It could never be considered inferior to the Sharingan. A mere kekkai genkai that allows the replication of techniques amongst other things that better ninja could do without," yelled one of the elders.

Hiashi and Fugaku glared at each other for what seemed ages as the other clan members argued amongst each other. Suddenly the wall slid away, bright light falling upon the meeting.

"Sandaime!" whispered many of the members there.

"O-Ho. I see the events of yesterdays is already under discussion," he said genially, stepping in and settling in between the two clans.

"What is of utmost importance is the continuation of civility in Konoha. The outbreak of inter-clan war would be devastating to the wellbeing of Konoha. We must understand that though duty to our clan is important, duty to one's village is even more significant. Trust and respect would be a good start in resolving these problems between our most prominent clans in Konoha…"

The heads of the clans, listened rather irately to the Third Hokage, but they listened carefully.

* * *

"Do y-you like flowers?"

"No."

"Do you like…c-cinnamon rolls?

"I don't like sweet things."

"B-But that's impossible!"

"Why?"

"B-because…b-because sweet things a-are the best thing in t-the w-world!"

"I see. Well, I don't like them. I like…kunai. And shuriken."

Hinata was silent as she considered this unusual liking of weapons in a seven-year old. They were sitting, backs against a tree, blowing dandelion clocks and watching the seeds float away on the breeze. They were hot and pink-cheeked from playing tag and Hinata had finally collapsed under the large maple tree in the Uchiha garden.

"Umm…why Sasuke-kun?"

"That's easy! I want to be a ninja! And I want to beat my brother in everything and then my dad can teach me Gokakyu no Jutsu! And then! I can join the Konoha Military Police Force"

"I want to be a s-strong ninja t-too. I'm n-not very g-good though."

Sasuke looked over at his new friend. She was looking glumly at the courtyard wall and Sasuke thought she looked a bit crazy staring at a wall.

"I think yo-"

"Hinata. It's time to go."

Hyuuga Hiashi had stepped outside of the meeting room and Sasuke bolted upright to see if he could discern any kind of tension between Hyuuga Hiashi and his father.

As Hinata stood up, brushing leaves from her simple yukata, Hiashi's eyes fell onto Sasuke and he shrunk against the tree, the pupiless eyes that had seemed gentle on Hinata, now staring intensely at him.

"Uchiha Sasuke heh? Grow well and strong," he said before turning away.

"…Arigatou, Hyuuga-sama," said Sasuke, not really knowing what to say to this.

"Sasuke! Come here."

Sasuke ran towards his father, eager to see if he would tell him what had happened.

"Did you play with Hinata?"

Sasuke's brow furrowed but he nodded fervently.

"What is she like?"

"Mmm…she's very shy. But she wants to be a ninja too! Will we see the Hyuuga again?"

Fugaku looked down upon his smiling son and patted his spiky hair.

"Let us hope we won't be seeing them too soon."

Sasuke turned back to the leaving Hyuuga delegation and looked for the small girl in the cream coloured yukata. Catching sight of the black haired girl, he smiled when he saw her waving slightly at him. He waved back at his new friend.

* * *

Author's Note:

Ummm….sorry if you read that discussion between the Hyuuga and Uchiha and just thought it was a bunch of good vocabulary used uselessly.

What happened really was the Hyuuga ANBU after a night patrol around the borders of the Fire Country went to tease the Uchiha who were on night control inside Konoha. They exchanged insults and the more fiery tempered chose to fight. They're both in the wrong. How have they come to a conclusion I wonder? R & R.


	2. Prologue Two

Disclaimer: I do not own the creations of Masashi Kishimoto. Of course I do not make any profit from this story. What? Are these my characters? No..only Miyuki, the made up, randomly named caretaker of Hinata.

* * *

The delicate dry bright blue petals were scattered around her, her small hands sticky with glue. The expensive wagami paper her father had brought her lay before her, several dry flattened petals and leaves stuck onto it. The early morning light was bright in the room, illuminating the walls furnished with the framings of oshibana. One side of the wall, displayed beautiful flower pressings, placed so intricately so that it showed mountains and trees. On the other side were simple flower pressings, petals arranged into flowers and branches of sakura.

This was Hinata's art. The oshibana she had proudly shown her mother and father. Her father had simply nodded and walked away but her mother…

Her mother had laughed beautifully, lifted Hinata up and swung her about. She had taken Hinata to the special room where Hinata's mother enjoyed her favourite pastime and framed the simple flower pressing. Hinata had grinned and clapped her hands.

Her mother was no longer there to frame her work. To put it up for her, to clap her hands in wonder of Hinata's childish flower pressing. It had been a long time, but Hinata still felt the reverberations of her mother's absence. There was no longer as much laughter and gaiety in the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata had stopped oshibana for a year until her father had asked her why she did not continue. She had hesitated in answering, not sure how to reply without sounding weak to her father. He had nodded at her silence and then given her an album, the front of the cover of which was decorated with a forget-me-not flower and Hinata's name in leaves. It was her most treasured item from her father. The only thing treasured from her father.

And when she shuffled back to her room, unshed tears caught in her throat and her small body battered and tired after training, she treasured it even more. She treasured the album when her father's harsh words echoed in her mind, her silent tears running down her pale face as she nursed her bruises on her arms.

Hinata smiled slightly, applying the last of the feathery leaves she had found in the garden. It was done. Her present for Sasuke-kun.

She had become fast friends with him at his house the other week and she was eager to see him again. He was a curious boy, who made her laugh at his insistence to know everything. He was much more fun than her serious sister and her cousin, Neji.

She pressed the wagami paper in between two slides of glass and slid on the metal holders. It was the same forget-me-not flower, the feathery leaves accentuating the small five petalled flower with the yellow core.

Smiling once again, she rose gracefully from her knees, smoothing out her pale peach kimono and packed away the oshibana utensils and storing the dry petals into a small wooden box. Lifting the glass framing once again, Hinata stepped outside, eager to ask her carer if she could go visit Sasuke-kun.

As she walked down the corridor, content etched across her face, she noticed the quietness. Hinata often woke up earlier than most in the Hyuuga compound, but by the time Hinata had finished one framing; she could hear the sounds of the servants making breakfast. Suddenly, her carer Miyuki lifted her up quickly.

"Miyuki?" she gasped.

"Come quickly, you must change. Something horrible has happened! Terrible!"

"Has someone been hurt? Is it Otou-san?"

Miyuki refused to reply but carried Hinata quickly to her room.

Pulling out a black kimono, she motioned for Hinata to pull off her peach one.

Someone had died. The last time she had worn that, her uncle had died. Fear erupted in Hinata as she thought about who it could be.

"Will you tell me? Will you tell me who it is?"

Miyuki's hands paused around Hinata's obi. She looked into Hinata's eyes, their eyes identical to each other's.

" The…whole clan."

"What? Hanabi? Otou-san?!" Hinata's small hands gripped painfully into Miyuki's arms.

"No! No, child. No more questions. You don't need to know. Hiashi-sama just requested your presence."

Miyuki gripping her hand, they raced to the main meeting room.

As Miyuki and Hinata kneeled before sliding away the door, Hinata saw the elders and her father there.

"Hinata."

"Otou-san," replied Hinata, bowing slightly.

"The Uchiha Clan has been wiped out."

"Hiashi-sama! Please! She need not know this!" cried Miyuki.

Hiashi turned his cold eyes towards Miyuki and she blanched.

"Leave. Your presence is not needed here."

Miyuki bowed and shuffled back before leaving.

Hinata dared not look around, to turn her head. Sasuke's father. Sasuke's mother. Sasuke's weird brother. Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. Her first friend outside of home.

"They were murdered."

"B-by who?" Hinata fought not to cry. She couldn't cry. All the elders were there watching her. Her father wouldn't want her to cry. She had to cry quietly later. In her room. She will cry there. Not here. _Not here._

"Uchiha Itachi. The heir to the clan. Last night"

"S-s-s-survivors?"

Hiashi nodded. She was doing well. The stutter had been there since her mother's death. He'd just have to wait it out.

"Uchiha Sasuke. He was spared."

Hinata let out a shuddering gasp.

_Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._

"P-please Otou-san. E-elders. I-I-If I may l-leave."

"Yes. Go. There will be a funeral in three days."

She bowed again and shuffled backwards.

As soon as she had slid the door closed, she clasped at her mouth.

Standing up, she ran to her room, tears sliding down her cheeks, her sobs muffled by her hand. Miyuki grasped onto her hand and pulled Hinata into her hug.

"It's alright. It's alright."

In the strange way that soft whispers can calm a child down, Hinata slumped into Miyuki's hug.

"Come, I'll take you to bed. Yes? Sleep away your sadness."

"No…Miyuki-san. Take…Take me to Sasuke-kun."

Miyuki turned to Hinata, her brow furrowed.

"No. I don't think we can, Hinata-chan."

"Otou-san doesn't need to know. He's busy."

Miyuki stared into Hinata's eyes.

"Alright," Miyuki nodded, holding Hinata's face and seeing the determination in the shy girl's eyes.

"Alright."

* * *

Hinata faced the door. Miyuki waited quietly behind her. Miyuki held onto her shoulder in an attempt to keep her from his room but Hinata shook her off and Miyuki stayed outside.

"I'm surprised they don't have guards. All ANBU must be on alert. Looking for that boy," she muttered.

Hinata opened the door and walked in, her present wrapped in her hands.

Uchiha Sasuke was in bed. He was not asleep. He was staring at the wall opposite him. Except Hinata saw in his eyes that he was seeing things beyond that wall. Seeing things that he wished he could not.

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

He didn't reply.

"It's…H-Hinata."

He didn't reply. Not even when she placed a small hand on Sasuke's.

It was cold and damp.

His eyes were wide, and suddenly he gripped tightly at the sheets.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stared into space, the images that Itachi had imprinted into his mind, running over and over again.

"Sasuke-kun!"

He would not reply and Hinata could only watch helplessly as fear and anguish gripped her friend. Tears fell from Sasuke's horror-stricken face and Hinata grasped at Sasuke's hand. He paid her no heed and Hinata began to tremble.

"Sasuke-kun! Please."

Unsure of what to do, Hinata finally lifted herself up and hugged him with all her seven-year old might. He shuddered in her arms, making small, frightened noises in his throat.

Finally after a few silent moments, he calmed down but did not look at Hinata.

"Go away. Run…Run he said. Run and cling to life," Sasuke let out a strangled sob and anger erupted from him. Hinata let go, and flung herself off the bed.

"Don't ever come back! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

Finally Sasuke gripped his pillow that was on top of his legs and hugged it fiercely before flinging it at the wall opposite him.

Though Sasuke had not directed this at her, Hinata let out a hurt and frightened sob and ran out into the arms of Miyuki.

Later, when nurses had calmed Sasuke down with their chakra, one of the nurses fixed up his room. The middle-aged woman bent down to pick up a small package. She looked down sadly at the sleeping boy and placed it on his bedside table.

"It seems, my dear boy. You still have one more person with you."

* * *

Author's Note:

_oshibana_ - is Japanese art made from dry flattened leaves or petals or flowers... It's nice. They can make mountains and mini trees with those leaves.

_wagami_ - is a special kind of paper...I saw it on Wikipedia and it was associated with origami and oshibana so...:)

Hmm…it seems a bit hasty. The sentences seem a bit broken at the start. There might be awkward sentencing… Well…tell me please. I'll try and fix it.

As for the actions of the seven-year old Hinata and Sasuke, especially Hinata with her father….

It might seem a bit beyond their age but when they are bred into what is practically the nobility of Konoha, they are trained and expected to behave in this kind of manner. I'm assuming… Sasuke already had ideas of revenge at this age so its not too unbelievable.

Hope you enjoyed. Now I must start on the third chapter


	3. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Need I continue?

Author's Note:

This skips ahead from Hinata and Sasuke as children to adults. They're about 20 years old now.

Consider the childhood chapters as the Prologue.

Uh...hope you like. Tell me if I should keep or scrap this chapter... It's pretty short. OOOH I dunno... sigh

* * *

Fierce pain gripped Sasuke, his face smirking manically through it all. His face was blood-splattered and he bore several broken ribs that throbbed with sharp pain. He felt numb. So numb.

Uchiha Itachi, Akatsuki coat gone, both arms broken, stood unsteadily opposite him.

"This is it. "

"Are those your final words?"

"It depends on how long it'll take you to kill me."

"Not too long now."

"Good little brother."

Sasuke scowled, his Sharingan spinning rapidly. Itachi's own Mangekyo Sharingan whirled haltingly. Sasuke focused his chakra to his eyes and Itachi let out a yell, falling forward.

"You are nothing now. No brother of mine. You will be inconsequential in my life from now on. You will die. And I, dear brother, do not have the same mercy you had."

"Who…said anything about…mercy?" Itachi rasped, and he straightened, opening his eyes. Blood red eyes borne from the murder of his closest friend by his hands. They were useless now, blood sliding down his cheeks. He stared blindly at his little brother and smirked.

"You are gravely mistaken, brother. I let you live so that you could feel intense fear, anger and hatred. So that these emotions and the loneliness would engulf you. So you would be alone…And you would make yourself alone in your quest for revenge. So that you could live on with those emotions until you killed me. Mercy? No. It was more along the lines of…spite."

Those words felt like a sickening punch to the stomach and Sasuke was so tired. Too tired to keep his mask expressionless. He let out a strangled growl and pulled Itachi up by his shirt with one arm. Itachi smiled down at him, his arms hanging limply by his sides, his eyes useless. Chakra surged around Sasuke and he picked up the sword he'd driven into the floor. Electricity conducted easily along the metal blade covered in blood and gods know what else.

"Last words, Itachi?" Sasuke growled, lifting the Kusanagi sword.

Itachi smirked and his eyes looked past him. Savage rage erupted inside Sasuke.

"Look at me! Look at the harbinger of your death!!" Sasuke screamed hoarsely.

Itachi's face showed little expression. Just that sickening smile.

"Look at me! I want to see your face when you die! I want to see the pain when I kill you!" Sasuke screamed again, his voice catching in his throat.

"Say something! I've killed Kisame! There's no saviour. Just your death now! Say SOMETHING!!! LOOK AT ME!!!!"

Sasuke shook him violently.

Finally Itachi, still smiling, looked at Sasuke.

"Cling to life, Sasuke. I've made you…who you are. An avenger. Well…you're going to achieve that revenge now. But you will still be an avenger. I have determined that. But now…what have you to avenge, to hate? You are the one that will be nothing. You know nothing but revenge and hate. That is all you will ever know. Your whole life is wasted. Cling miserably to that life, Sasuke, or…what is left of it," Itachi whispered.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes widened. All he had ever known. Hatred. Revenge.

Sasuke let out a blood-curdling cry. Itachi responded with a hoarse laugh. Sasuke lifted his sword and sliced agilely, accurately.

Sasuke dropped the headless, twitching body and fell after it. On his knees, he pounded at the hard blood stained ground. His broken, bloody body shuddered with dry hacking sobs. Tears fell profusely from his black eyes and made clear trails down his sweat and dirt ridden face. His scream tore his throat, and all he could see was his own bloody hands and the lifeless body. All he could smell was ash and the metallic tang of blood. The battle-stricken forest burned around him. The hatred that lingered in the air. The past that hung so heavily all around Sasuke as the painfully vivid visions of his parent's death repeated again and again in his mind.

Sasuke was so detached from where he was. As detached from his body as Itachi's head to it's own. Sasuke knew then that his heart had torn in his chest. That the muscle inside his chest had stopped. Uchiha Sasuke was nothing.

Where was he? What was he doing? Who was he?

**Uchiha. Death. Hatred. Revenge. Avenger.** All I will ever know.

Darkness engulfed him.

* * *

"Sasuke. Come home."

There was no plea. It sounded as if it was just a passing statement. As if some parent was telling their teenager son to get home before midnight. He turned.

Bright blue eyes. Golden hair. The whisker lines.

They stared for what seemed to be a lifetime.

"Where's Kakashi? Sakura?" Sasuke asked, his monotone, emotionless voice breaking the silence.

"Back there," replied Naruto vaguely.

"I killed him."

"Yeah. I know. You've done it."

"Yeah."

"Come home."

"…."

"You're not going to be put into prison or anything. Come home."

"Do…Do I still have a home?" Sasuke whispered, staring blankly at the blonde ninja. He was as tall as him now. Naruto. Future Hokage.

"Wherever you have people who care for you, you have a home."

"After all I've done? You still wish to take me back?"

"Of course. This bond. Neither you nor I. Not even the Fox can sever it."

"I…I'm not alone."

"Nah. Not if you don't' want to be."

Sasuke was surprised that after all that had happened in the past week, he still had an ounce of pride that refused him the indignity of crying in front of his rival. His best friend.

"You look beat up."

"Shut up," muttered Sasuke, "Moron," he added for reminiscence's sake.

He winced though when Naruto worsened his broken ribs by pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Let's go home. You've been a right jerk, you know that?"

"I…can't apologize. I wouldn't...know..."

Naruto nodded and grasped Sasuke's shoulder. And Sasuke wondered where all the time had gone and how he had missed Naruto growing into a mature man.

Sasuke limped forward, braced without word by Naruto's shoulder.

Konoha wasn't too far.

Would it still be home? He could remember the large gates, the red hiragana painted on each gate. _Retreat, _it read. Could he finally retreat from the pain, anger and regret? Could he ever dissolve into the simple monotony of a Konoha shinobi again? Gods know what would happen when he'd get there. But at that moment, his torn heart, his broken body was being supported by the one person that had kept faith in him and with whom Sasuke trusted his life to. And he supposed that he'd let that be the only thing he'd think about as they walked through the forest.

* * *

Author's Note:

Well? How is it? -bites fingernails- It's not lol...SasuNaru. Just a demonstration of how strong their friendship is. And now on to the next chapter which will be Hinata-centric. Arghhh its so nerve wrecking!

PLEASE review and give me your opinion! This is one of the chapters I'm not sure about. But it seems the right way for me to go. Tell me about it.

-growthbeyondreason


	4. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN!!!!

Author's Notes: GUYSSSS!!! Thank you so much for your review and support. I hope I haven't disappointed anyone with this chapter...

* * *

The sound of heavy breathing radiated from the two sparring partners. They nodded once in acknowledgement and rushed forward, dodging each other's onslaught and making their own attacks. Dark hair swirled in their grace and agility and their chakra imbued palm strikes made high pitched whistles as they forced it into each other's tenketsu. She saw an opening, and knocked away the possibility that it was a trap because she was already aiming for it. He dodged easily, grabbing her wrist without effort and blocking her tenketsu in that arm with killer accuracy. She wrenched herself from his grip and slid backwards from the force. He exhaled calmly and she stared intently, eager to continue.

"You shouldn't fall into traps so easily."

"I know."

"If you know, then you shouldn't be falling into those traps as easily as you are."

"Hai."

"Thus, you must think about counterattacks even as you prepare for the first. Again."

Hinata nodded, and fell back into the Jyuuken pose. Neji did the same, flicking his long traditional robes away from his legs. Her Byakugan activated, she looked down briefly at her arm and saw that her left arm was indeed useless in terms of Jyuuken. Sighing, she waited for Neji to begin.

There was a sudden loud screech from an overhead bird and Hinata flinched. In that moment, Neji had swiftly appeared before Hinata, aiming two fingers to the tenketsu in her shoulder. She dodged just in time, knocking his incoming hits to the side and moving away.

"Your footwork is better," he muttered as he blocked a feeble attempt at his stomach.

He aimed again for the right arm, seeking to disable her completely but she stumbled to the side in time. He scowled at this ungainliness and turned quickly on his feet, seeking her out.

Suddenly, he gasped inaudibly as his Byakugan caught up with her sudden speed, and she was behind him. His eyes widened as his left arm was pulled back and up against his back in a lock and a small chakra charged hand found its place on his spine.

He grunted with effort and annoyance at himself for not recognizing that she too would know the Byakugan weaknesses. It was barely painful but all she had to do was just increase the pressure….

"Keep hold."

Her grip tightened.

"Sorry."

"What for?"

"Um…for letting go?"

"Never mind. That was good. Very good."

"Thank you, Neji."

"You've gotten very fast, Hinata-sama."

"Please don't call me Hinata-sama," she said quietly.

"Your father is here," he said quietly back.

"Oh," she said, and she made to let go of him but he clicked his tongue and whispered harshly,

"Do not let go."

His other arm moved back and gripped her hand at his back. Twisting quickly, he spun her around, reversing their positions. She let out a gasp as he tightened his hold, one hand holding her left arm, twisted high behind her and the other pushing her head down.

"How will you move out of this, Hinata-sama?"

She hesitated and then stilled. Neji cocked his head, wondering what she was planning to do.

She inhaled slowly and steadily, and gripped Neji's hand that gripped her arm. She'd need all the momentum she could get. Gathering all her power and strength into her right arm, she swung her whole body into the way her arm was twisted. The sudden shock made Neji let go, and she used her left hand to keep her from falling before kicking Neji's legs from under him as she swung around him.

"Enough."

She sat up and bowed towards the voice.

Neji was still on his back, and he had a slight smile.

"Sit up, Neji."

He hurriedly sat up, bowing too towards the voice.

"Uncouth, but you managed to disable Neji's lock. Good, Hinata."

Hinata, who'd hung her head when her father said uncouth, looked up.

"Thank you, Otou-san."

Hiashi Hyuuga sat with tea and Hanabi beside him.

"I see you have been training Hinata in all manners of fighting. Nevertheless, best to strengthen her Jyuuken."

Neji accepted this admonishment quickly and bowed his head.

"Go clean yourselves. I will now train with Hanabi."

"Hai. Thank you," Hinata and Neji said in unison before standing and walking away.

Hinata smiled to herself and pulled out the cord that tied back her long blackish-blue hair. Neji walked silently beside her, his hands held behind him.

"Now I know."

"Pardon, Neji?"

Neji looked up and he had a small smirk on his lips.

"Why you were doing the handstands with Uzumaki."

Hinata blushed and wondered if he followed her everywhere.

"He taught you that move, I suppose? Interesting. Effective. Goes well with your natural flexibility."

"Hai."

"He's coming back today isn't he?"

"Hai."

"Will you meet him?"

Hinata paused, and looked at Neji. He was eyeing her from the corner of his eyes. She smiled brightly.

"I don't feel that way about Naruto-kun anymore."

"Mmm. Just making sure," he said, smirking slightly.

Neji had often ridiculed her childish crush on Naruto but with his own Naruto-induced epiphany during the Chuunin Exams, he began to see the effect of the loud, confident ninja more clearly on his cousin. He came to believe though, that his Hinata-sama was much too good for that no-good troublemaker.

She giggled quietly before excusing herself from him.

It was entirely true, of course. She had been assigned a three-month mission with Naruto last year. He was as beautifully loyal, brave and obnoxiously loud up close. However, she realised two months into the mission that Naruto, the loud, rash, unpredictable ninja she'd admired for years, wasn't really what she'd had her heart beating for. They had become fast friends though and for that Hinata was immensely grateful. He made her laugh more than anyone ever had in her lifetime. Locking the door behind her, she sighed happily in her bedroom. Her sanctuary.

Pulling off her sticky training clothes, she entered the adjoining bathroom and smiled happily at the hot steaming bath that had been prepared. Sliding in slowly, she let the hot water heal her sore body. She was content though. Training with Neji was infinitely better than training with her father. Tomorrow, she'd train with her old team members again and she'd probably visit the hospital. No doubt, Naruto would be injured and bandaged from his latest mission.

She winced when she pressed lightly onto the red dot that was her inflamed chakra point. She'd have to fix up the blocked tenketsu too.

* * *

"Hello. I'm here to see if Uzumaki Naruto has checked in yet?"

Hinata stood before the reception desk, dressed in shinobi garb and with a small take-away bowl of Ichiraku ramen. She waited patiently as the receptionist rummaged through the sign-in book.

"Uh…yes. He'd be…on the second floor, room 29C."

"Thank you, ma'am," replied Hinata politely, before heading off.

As she came to the room, she knocked slightly on the room. She sensed there were many people on the other side, and hoped dearly that she'd refrain from stuttering.

"Come in!"

Hinata turned the knob with a slightly shaky hand and looked in.

There seemed to be a congregation of sorts in the room and she wondered if Naruto had gotten critically injured. Godaime Hokage was there so she worried if Naruto had received a life-threatening injury.

"Ah, Hinata! What can I do for you?" asked the Hokage, smiling tensely.

"Well, um…actually, Hokage-sama, I came to see Naruto."

Tsunade nodded and moved out of her view.

"Hey Hinata! What've you got there? Ramen!? For me!? You're the best, you know that?" asked Naruto, who bounded up to greet her. Hinata idly wondered if he should be walking about yet before she noticed the red-rimmed eyes of Sakura and the mop of black hair on the pillow.

Suddenly, it struck her how solemn the room was, and the unmistakable smell of smoke, blood and ash hung in the air around Uchiha Sasuke. She stumbled, slightly nauseated.

Naruto gently caught her arm.

"Hey, what's up Hinata?"

"It's him."

Naruto's expression suddenly softened and he looked back at the unconscious man.

"Yeah. I finally brought him back."

"Oh. Wow, Naruto. Th-This is really…really great," she mumbled.

Tsunade walked towards them.

"Take her out, Naruto. I've got to speak to Kakashi for a moment."

"Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, looking back at the blank pink-haired woman who stared at Uchiha Sasuke's face.

Tsunade shook her head and stared worriedly at her apprentice. She turned back to Naruto and gave a dismissing nod.

Naruto nodded and took Hinata by the arm.

"Hey thanks for the ramen! I'm going to eat it right away!"

He continued to blabber on and Hinata only listened shortly before turning to Naruto.

"Are you okay?"

"What? Yeah! Of course!"

"Uchiha Sasuke is back."

"Hinata, you're weird. Yeah, I know. I brought him back."

"What's wrong?" she insisted.

Naruto's face fell.

"I can't hide it from you, can I?"

Hinata smiled and shook her head. She would never admit it but after ten odd years of watching Naruto from behind trees, poles, fences and Kami knows what else, she could read him and all his emotions like a book.

"I don't know. I just feel sad."

Uzumaki Naruto was rarely sad. But when he was, he walked with an exaggerated gait and grinned extra wide. And when he was younger, he would go train until he fell unconscious. Hinata had often wanted to tend to him in the training grounds but had never gathered the courage to walk out into the open.

Now, she hugged him tightly and he hugged her back, sighing softly into her hair.

"He's back, Hinata. And no one knows what to do with him. Old Lady Tsunade wants to quarantine and interrogate him. But he's good, Hinata. He's good now. I would stand up to everyone in Konoha to prove it."

She nodded silently and let him talk. She was always best for listening.

Afterwards, she watched him walk back to Room 29C, eating the ramen she had brought and Hinata felt a foreboding apprehension. She wasn't sure why she was feeling this way but the indelible smell of smoke, ash and blood followed her home.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hope you enjoyed it. And remember to give me your thoughts. I write what is demanded, dear readers.


	5. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Hi. I disclaim any ownership concerning Naruto and any affiliated characters, as they are the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. And forever and ever. His.

A/N: Later than usual. But excuses are below. Read on. Enjoy.

* * *

The fluorescent lights glared down onto Sasuke's sensitive eyes. He shut them tightly and blindly hoped that he was not in Orochimaru's experiment labs. For a moment, his breathing quickened and his hands grew sweaty before he realised the extremely familiar white room was in the hospital. Konoha Hospital. He was…home.

He inhaled deeply, wincing when his ribs moved to accommodate his filling lungs. There was an unfamiliar chakra that percolated all through his body. He could understand that. Someone must have infused his or hers into him so that he wouldn't die or slip into a coma. He slowly checked his other injuries and saw that his own hands were covered in bandages. They were burns.

---

_Fire erupted in the surrounding area. Itachi laughed loudly as he dodged the multiple explosions of fire with ease._

"_Ahhh. The Uchiha specialty. Good to see the technique Father taught us."_

_Sasuke grimaced with the burns all over his fingers and Itachi's mentioning of their parents every time he spoke. He inhaled deeply, infusing chakra into the air that travelled down his windpipe. He watched with his Sharingan as Itachi moved swiftly towards him. Sasuke held the chakra-infused air in his chest for a little while longer, waiting for the right moment. He blew out, forcing the stream of fire through his fingers. Fire erupted all around him as it caught the trees, the very ground and hopefully his brother in melting heat._

---

Sasuke shook his head, only to stop abruptly at the impending headache. He poked tenderly at his ribs, wondering how many were fractured. He closed his eyes wincing at the pain and felt the unbidden memories ebb and flow at the back of his mind.

---

_Itachi appeared above him as he fell from the obscene height Itachi had thrown him up to._

"_I like this technique. It's a shame it didn't work for you."_

_Itachi stomped down on to Sasuke's stomach, kicking with immense strength, and breaking his ribs. Sasuke fell into the ground with a sickening crunch. Blinding coloured circles appeared as he opened his eyes. He tried to breathe but his body was too broken and in shock._

"_That technique was something reminiscent of old Gai-sensei's taijutsu. What did you call it? Lion Combo?"_

_Sasuke glared at Itachi as he landed beside his body. Itachi smiled back._

"_Didn't I tell you that you weren't to come after me until you achieved Mangekyo? Foolish little brother."_

---

Sasuke opened his eyes again, scowling. He had succeeded, he supposed. Succeeded at his life's purpose. He had become as isolated and arrogant as his brother was when he was younger. He had tried to tear the friendships he had shared with Naruto and Sakura. Not only that, but he had later tried to kill them. He had followed Orochimaru, hungry for power and angry with Naruto for his progress. He had escaped Orochimaru's plans two years afterwards, willing him into defeat. And Itachi…

Sasuke gripped his hands into fists tightly before realising the throbbing pain and the blood seeping through the bandages.

Was Itachi right? He probably was. Sasuke had been so engulfed with anger and revenge he had never thought about life afterwards.

He supposed that it was something that never crossed his mind. He had always thought that he'd die killing Itachi. As for his other life's purpose of reviving his clan. It suddenly occurred to him that that was what was left on his life's to do list.

"Uchiha-san. Lunch is rea-"

The nurse paused when she saw Sasuke glaring at her. She flushed and backed away slightly.

"Ahh…Ayame-san. You can put that down. Uchiha-san is just being his normal self."

The woman who had spoken sat down beside Sasuke, and placed the tray onto his lap.

"Can you eat?" Sakura asked cheerfully.

Sasuke didn't say anything. It was the first time he had seen her after four years. Last time he had seen her, he had been perfectly content and willing to kill her. He remained silent, unsure of what to say.

"I mean…your hands," she said uncertainly, motioning towards his bandages.

"Yes. It'll be fine."

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke turned to take in the green-eyed kunoichi. She looked the same, but years had attributed to the stubborn jaw and her face had long lost any sign of her childhood. It fit her. She was still as beautiful as ever but she was strong and solemn looking. Her pink hair was short and she still wore her hitae-ate like a headband. She was wearing a white nurse's outfit though, not the red dress he was familiar with.

He briefly remembered Naruto telling him that she was the apprentice of the Hokage. Her eyes were staring into his and she didn't look away when he stared back. He idly wondered if she still had those feelings for him. Underneath her sincere scrutiny, Sasuke suddenly felt as if he couldn't look back.

"Sakura. I'm…I can't…"

"Oh! You don't have to apologize! Naruto and I, we understand. I'm just…glad we're Team Seven again," she said, shaking her hands in front of her. An apology wasn't what she had been staring at him for.

"I had to. It was something I decided long before we all met."

"Yes. I remember."

She smiled at the memory. It had been so long ago. She had been so stupid over him. They had introduced themselves and only one of them had been able to achieve their dreams. She looked at the man before her. Her own dreams had changed considerably since then.

You're so far away, Sasuke she thought.

He was silent for a moment, staring at the cream coloured mush on his plate.

"How long have I been out?"

Sasuke dimly remembered hazy faces and hot smothering blankets,

"A week or so. You were unconscious when Naruto brought you to us. "

"It was your chakra?"

"Hai. I had to quickly heal some injuries so that you wouldn't die on the way home."

Sasuke nodded imperceptibly. It was her chakra he had felt fusing with his own.

"I'm healed now?"

"You'll be lethargic for quite awhile. You won't be able to train for a while. Your ribs are alright. Maybe just the occasional pain. You had severe chakra depletion. That is understandable."

"You're a medic-nin."

"Hai," she gushed, nodding.

"What now?" he asked, somewhat timidly.

She looked at him and smiled.

"Of course, you'll be interrogated. And I expect the ANBU will keep an eye on your activities. You will be confined to Konoha and as for missions…that hasn't been decided yet."

"How long?"

"However long Godaime-sama deems appropriate."

"No imprisonment? Not even house arrest?"

Sakura shook her head and pulled the tray off his lap when it was established that Sasuke wasn't going to eat it, no matter how famished he was.

"Why is that?"

"Kakashi and Naruto vouched for you."

"The Hokage is okay about this?"

"She knows the circumstances," said Sakura, still staring at his face.

_That I had left Konoha for __**that thing**__ to train me? So that I could kill the S-class missing-nin that was my brother?_

It seemed too surreal. Sasuke's brow furrowed in thought as he glared at his hands.

"She'll need to examine you. Extensively. The mind is a intricate labyrinth. We don't know what happened to Orochimaru," said Sakura uncertainly.

He glared at Sakura who kept her face emotionless.

"I refuse to have my brain prodded at. I'm confident that Orochimaru is gone."

A deeper feminine voice spoke from the doorway.

"Unfortunately, you are not under any position to refuse it nor are you qualified to make any final decision on your condition. You are here under my mercy. In fact, from now on, you will live here under my mercy, and you will get married, continue life and grow old here under my mercy," the blonde-haired woman said cheerfully, "

And if you take one step out of line, I'll have you killed. Do you understand?"

Sasuke felt the incredible pulse of chakra that was Tsunade.

He remained still and silent; surprised that she had appeared into his surrounding radius without her presence alerting him.

_My brain must still be on hiatus._

"Do you understand?" asked Tsunade again. Her aura throbbed around her, making Sasuke feel as if he was being slowly smothered. She walked forward and if Sasuke had still been on the IV drops, he'd probably think her chakra was radiating off her body.

"Hai," he muttered audibly, crossing his arms. The pressure and tension that had increased tenfold inside his room lessened considerably. He refused to exhale so that it would not look as if he had breathed out in relief.

"Good. You are free to go, though it is unadvised as you have healing ribs and extensive burns on your hands. Various cuts and bruises will heal and won't provide much hindrance."

Tsunade approached his bedside, placed a hand on his forehead and motioned for him to sit up. He did so, grimacing at the movement and she placed a hand on his back. Chakra flowed into Sasuke and he felt his muscles and chakra reserves reacting joyfully with her surprisingly gentle touch. Almost motherly.

"Mm…seems your ribs are better. You're lucky that there was no harm done to your organs. That is good. Sakura has told you not to train, correct?"

Sakura nodded and continued to watch carefully. Sasuke noticed how she didn't blush at his current state of undress.

" Mmm…your hands are not going well though. I think I might get you to ask Hinata for her salves. Work well for burns."

He ignored her and grimaced when she prodded a deep black-purple bruise on his cheekbone.

"Hmm…nice hue. Never seen that kind before," she chortled.

Sasuke scowled and moved his face out of the way.

"Well then," she said, her expression and voice suddenly becoming serious again, "…The Uchiha estate has recently been demolished."

Sasuke's eyes bulged and his hands turned into gripping fists.

"What?"

"It was doubted whether you would return. And we certainly weren't expecting Itachi over for a tea party. And it's just the surrounding area anyway. Not the main houses."

"Where am I suppose to live?" Sasuke snarled.

A blonde eyebrow twitched up, and she pursed her lips.

"Naturally, the original estate will be returned to you and you can do whatever you please with it. Build rides or candy stores. Whatever you kids like."

Sasuke sincerely wished he had the ability of choking the woman but with the state of his hands…He settled for a malevolent glare.

She ignored him completely and continued.

"As I said, the main houses are not demolished. I believe you lived there before you ran off with Orochimaru. If you do not wish to continue living there….Live with Naruto."

She chortled at his dark expression and flicked a blonde ponytail from her face. Sakura held her hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes.

"Children," Tsunade snorted before walking out.

"She treats everyone like that. She's got a…volatile temper," said Sakura, trying hard not to snort through her fingers.

"Hmmph."

Sakura let out a tinkling laugh as she stood up.

"I'll ask for something for you to eat. Hospital food isn't all that great. If you want to leave today, I'll check on your house."

Sasuke nodded in thanks. He allowed a brief upturning of his lips.

"Sasuke…I'm glad you're back."

Sasuke looked up, catching her leaving the room.

He looked down at his hands. The bandages would need to be changed. He grimaced at the grime and dried blood underneath his nails. The blood will linger for days.

Despite having defected and causing grievous harm to Konoha shinobi intentionally or not, he was free.

It seemed then, as if nothing had happened. As if he had gone for a mission and simply returned. Sasuke gripped his hands and grimaced at the blood that seeped through his bandages. He had achieved so much in his short life, and in that quest for revenge and power, he had forgotten himself.

_What would he do now? Pretend that he had just returned from a mission and not from years of accelerated training with Orochimaru? Pretend that Orochimaru hadn't entered into his mind and body? Pretend that he hadn't spent years hunting his brother when his brother hunted Naruto? Pretend that he hadn't killed Uchiha Itachi in cold rage and hadn't wondered aimlessly in acute emotional and physical pain for a week afterwards? What was he suppose to do now?_

_Go meet up with Naruto and Shikamaru for sake?_

There was as soft thump as a pillow was thrown across the room at the wall opposite.

* * *

Sakura exhaled slowly. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

Nothing.

I felt nothing.

She opened her eyes, and smiled an bittersweet smile in the corridor outside Room 29C.

Sasuke is here. And I love him. But I felt nothing.

She smiled again, her thoughts on the young girl she once was.

Nodding at the various nurses that recognized her as the Hokage's apprentice, Haruno Sakura walked off to attend to her other patients.

* * *

Sasuke was stretching his legs against a wall when Naruto arrived in Room 29C. It had taken Sasuke an hour to stand up fully without falling.

Sasuke looked up and Naruto sat down unfazed by the emotionless expression that he was faced with.

"Hey! I heard from Sakura-chan downstairs that you were awake."

Sasuke grunted and Naruto grinned.

"You going to eat that? I haven't eaten yet." Naruto gestured to the tray that had been left on his bedside table for lunch.

Naruto picked up the grapes, plucked all of them and stuffed them into his mouth.

Sasuke watched him eat until finally Naruto stopped and stared back.

"You said you didn't want it?" said Naruto guiltily.

"I didn't say anything, dobe."

Naruto laughed and Sasuke gave a small smirk.

"You getting out soon?" asked Naruto, picking up a container and slurping down the jelly.

"Yes…tonight."

"Tonight? But you just woke up!"

"I've been awake for a few hours now."

"What was in here?" asked Naruto, lifting up the smaller tray.

"Food."

"You ate that right?"

"Mm."

"That's good. Hey! Wanna go out for dinner or something? You're getting out now right?"

Sasuke gestured to his clothes and Naruto gave an unmanly giggle.

Sasuke scowled. He was wearing hospital green pants and top.

"How were you going to get out anyway?"

"Naked in the night," Sasuke deadpanned, executing two high kicks before surreptitiously grimacing at the pain.

Naruto snorted and then opened his mouth.

"I refuse to wear any of your things," interrupted Sasuke, turning abruptly to Naruto.

"Why not?" asked Naruto, his expression of mock-offence.

"I don't like orange," Sasuke hissed, but Naruto was already gone.

Sasuke scowled as he walked alongside Naruto in Konoha. He had to admit that he was apprehensive when Naruto had pulled the clothes out of the bag. It turned out to be a black t-shirt and other standard issue shinobi garb.

But, he might as well have been wearing Naruto's orange outfit with an orange hat for all the attention he was getting.

"Just ignore them," muttered Naruto when there was a particularly nasty remark from an old shopkeeper.

_Traitor. How dare you come back? Naruto should have killed him. At least the kitsune isn't a traitor. Why is Uchiha Sasuke back?_

The whispers followed them and Sasuke clenched his fists occasionally. He could kill them all with a glance but that wouldn't really help his situation. And it wasn't as if neither he nor Naruto had ever had whispers following them all their life. They were used to it.

It was autumn in Konoha. The various trees in the streets shedding multitudes of gold or crimson leaves swayed in the brisk cool wind. Memories of D-rank missions and shovelling those leaves into bags permeate him and Sasuke felt his shoulders relax. Absent-mindedly, Sasuke wished he had come back during the summer.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to go home okay? Go home."

Naruto looked at him uncertainly. Sasuke gave him a smirk and punched him on the arm.

'I will see you tomorrow."

Naruto gave Sasuke a large grin and punched him back.

"Yeah, you must be tired and still sore, huh?"

Sasuke scowled and walked off.

"Call me if you need someone to help you to clean up or something. Kage bunshin is good for that!"

Sasuke lifted an arm and sighed quietly to himself.

Leaves swirled around his feet, and Sasuke suddenly felt the atmosphere transform into the depressive one that had accompanied him for most of the morning. He followed the agonizing familiar street that led to the Uchiha estate.

When he approached, he found the rubble and debris of the buildings that had once housed his family. He was under an archway, behind him the small courtyard that led to the entrance to the Uchiha district. The Uchiha fan, faded and cracking, adorned the archway and Sasuke felt the terrifying déjà vu.

He searched vainly for a memory and found that his mind's eye couldn't remember what the Uchiha streets had looked like before the massacre. He could see the blood and shuriken that were splattered across walls and the bodies of his auntie and uncle outside their store.

Oh, that he could see vividly.

Sasuke tried not to inhale deeply because of his ribs. Nothing was left. The surrounding expanse that was once the flourishing shops and houses of the many Uchiha had been reduced to rubble and with it, the very memory of them. Walking past the debris, he felt eerily vulnerable. Because the lack of walls around him exposed him to the setting sun and brisk wind and because Sasuke could now very distinctly perceive the two presences that had followed him since he had left the hospital.

They made no effort to hide their chakra; nevertheless, they were expertly hidden. Sasuke could not discern whether one of them was behind him or to the right a bit. Nodding once, he continued on down the path toward the main houses.

Perhaps it was the fact that he had two followers and he could do nothing about it, but Sasuke's heart began to pace faster and the bandages around his hands grew damp very quickly despite the cool weather. He would not admit to himself that he was now entering his very own personalized hell.

The cracked Uchiha crest, the very one that Itachi had mutilated with his kunai. It glared blatantly in front of Sasuke and he cursorily turned away.

Sasuke would have jumped if he weren't sufficiently self-disciplined. He settled back on to heels, his hands finding themselves into his pant pockets.

The man was standing against the wall outside the door to Sasuke's house. He wore a long robe, his long greying hair combed back to reveal the prominent widow's peak. The white eyes that reflected the sunlight caught Sasuke's attention immediately. Studying the man, Sasuke arched an eyebrow in question.

"Hyuuga Hiashi, boy," replied the man succinctly.

* * *

Authoress' Note:

Ohayo gozaimasu. It's seven in the morning. My back aches and I have just hurriedly scanned this 12-page story (on Word).

Hope it wasn't too rushed and bad. I'll fix it after I've had some sleep and sausages and you've told me. I'm much too newbie to consider a beta.

Yes, it's been longer than normal, this update.

Here are some excuses:

1. Internet usage overkill. That's a good excuse really. It took 20 minutes to upload this 80kb chapter. Urghh.

2. Went through some confusion about where I was going in this story. Please note, readers, I'm sorry. But I'm a sporadic kind of writer. My moods directly affect the story and after reading some fantastic SasuHina I was COMPLETELY overwhelmed by it all and couldn't discern my story from the others and make it mine.

Sometimes I'm overcome with insecurity and uncertainty. This is cured by a little something called good critique and praise in the form of a review. Please? For this poor little worker?


	6. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** Can I stop this from now on? I think after five entries, the mere thought of me creating the wonderful universe of Naruto is ludicrous. I make no profit from this. And I definitely didn't create any of the characters in Naruto.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the wait. I got lost on the wonderful road of life. Hiashi speaks alot. I'm sorry.

* * *

The boy, for that was what he was in the eyes of Hyuuga Hiashi, remained motionless. This prodigy of a ninja, famed for his talent and infamous for being the survivor of the Uchiha massacre made no action that revealed he recognized the Head of the Hyuuga Clan. Hiashi extended his hand and Uchiha Sasuke hesitated, his black eyes glancing at the hand before grasping it firmly with his own. When Hiashi loosened his grip, Sasuke quickly did the same and placed his hand back into his pocket. 

"Firstly, welcome back to Konoha," Hiashi said, stepping back, his white eyes scrutinizing Sasuke from under his prominent brow.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

It was Hiashi's turn to arch an eyebrow now. Clearly, Uchiha Sasuke had no taste for social etiquette. He continued, his white eyes watching Sasuke's body language carefully.

"I understand you have been labelled a traitor in Konoha, for leaving with a known enemy of Konoha in order to defeat your brother. Many in Konoha are not forgiving of your transgressions. But you see, I understand it as a matter of honour and duty. You have duly returned to your home village having defeated her primary enemy, one of the Legendary Three, Orochimaru, and an equally dangerous missing-nin from Konoha, your brother. Some might say that rather, you are a hero in Konoha. "

Sasuke remained motionless, his face showing no discernable emotion, even to a master of the Byakugan.

"That still doesn't tell me what you want," drawled Sasuke, eyeing Hiashi with a bored expression.

Hiashi nodded, smiled and continued.

"And yet, despite the benefits Konoha gains, I note that you are under scrutiny for your actions. The Godaime is a fickle, volatile woman. The ANBU will be trailing you for months, years even, and the basic privileges of a shinobi have been stripped from you. I am here to offer you a proposition. One that perhaps would be advantageous in your effort to reintegrate into Konoha."

"You presume much," said Sasuke, staring into the setting sun.

"Besides, I don't need it," shrugged Sasuke dismissively and he walked passed Hiashi without a further glance. He paused at the door.

"Yes. Of course. You have the esteemed fox demon boy and the Hokage's promising apprentice by your side," said Hiashi, turning to watch Sasuke.

Sasuke remained silent and kicked up the doormat at his feet. Six years of accumulated dust bloomed in the air and Sasuke stepped back.

"I suppose you wish to restore the former glory of Uchiha. And you most certainly have the resources to do that. In due course, I assume you wish to revive your clan too?

Sasuke turned, not because he was interested, but because he didn't know how he was going to get in. There was a key that he had placed at Sakura's side when he first left Konoha. Had she come to put it back yet? He eyed the walls carefully, searching for any sign of recent disturbance in the area. He glanced back at Hiashi. The man had a sonorous voice, one that demanded respect and Sasuke instantly recognized the stature of a nobleman. He stood tall and imposing, his unsullied robes made of the best fabric, his hair brushed carefully and tied behind him. Yet this man was trying to develop rapport with him, asking sly questions with dulcet tones, trying much too like Orochimaru to get Sasuke to realize their objectives, not his own.

"I am not interested," said Sasuke with a sneer.

"In reviving your Clan?"

"No, in your proposition."

"But my proposition involves the eventual restoration of your Clan and it's former glory."

Sasuke grimaced. The reason why this man was meeting him was suddenly becoming all too clear. His eyes were of much worth.

"My daughter Hinata-"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"Ah…Yes, this is where there is a slight problem," sighed Hiashi, flinging back his long sleeves, showing rather large, majestic hands.

Sasuke snorted and folded his arms.

"I see no problem. I am not interested."

"It is not for you to choose. For you to say nay or yea. It was an old agreement made between our respective clans."

"I have no choice?" asked Sasuke, impatience beginning to seep into his tone.

Hiashi smirked, brushing down his cream robes with his hands.

"As I said, there is an old agreement between our clans. Your father and I both signed a contract."

Sasuke's upper lip curled in another sneer, his eyes still searching for a sign of the key.

"It makes no difference. It means nothing now."

"Perhaps I should elaborate, no?"

Sasuke responded with a 'tch' sound and turned his back to the man.

"I am not sure how far back your memory reaches before the murder of your family but when you were a child, perhaps only two or so weeks before the massacre, there was a disagreement between the Hyuuga and Uchiha."

Hiashi paused here, eyeing Sasuke's expression. It was still annoyingly opaque, no discernable emotion passing over the immobile face.

"There had always been a certain ill-disguised hostility between our two clans. In this case, the hostility reached a boiling point in which someone was killed. The Sandaime decided that we could not have such conflict in our peaceful village. It had only been a few decades since the Great Shinobi Wars. Konoha was still recovering and you were part of the first generation born into the new era of peace. He suggested a compromise, something that would ensure the continuing peace between our clans. The terms of this treaty would be the marriage of the heirs of our clans. Hyuuga Hinata, my daughter, is the oldest and therefore the heir. It was Uchiha Itachi that I had intended to be my daughter's husband. However, your father was adamant that you be the other constituent in this contract. Finally, after much argument and deliberation, the contract was signed and sealed by the blood of Hyuuga and Uchiha. It is a binding contract, irreversible unless either you or my daughter dies. It refuses the two to marry another, causing death. The two must be married as soon as they are of traditional age. That is, twenty-one years, in Hyuuga tradition. It is an old technique. One used during the Great Shinobi Wars in order to ensure allies or retain peace."

Sasuke stared blankly at the older man. During his time in Konoha, he had made every effort to read up on the history of the Uchiha. He knew that the Sharingan had originated in the Byakugan millennia ago before fully severing themselves from the clan. That he was of the 56th generation of Uchiha and had been a particularly difficult breech baby. Yet, never had he ever encountered an even small mention of this betrothal. How could something as important as this fail to be recorded by any of the Uchiha scribes or his own father? Eyeing Hiashi, Sasuke decided that he would have to kill this Hinata girl. It was the only possible choice. It must not apply if Sasuke was the only Uchiha left. The Third evidently did not foresee the sudden annihilation of the Uchiha. Well, no one did. Sasuke tried to ignore the anger and shame that seethed when he thought of Itachi.

"You expect me to accept this…. proposal? To marry your daughter?" asked Sasuke, his even voice not betraying the anger and disbelief he was feeling.

"It is not something I genuinely agree to. But it is irreversible and I do not wish for my daughter to die, no matter how weak she may be."

Sasuke made to argue the case but refrained himself. He settled for a malevolent silence.

"There is no way to reverse this? No counter acting contract?"

"It was incumbent on the Third Hokage to prevent any conflict within an already weak and fragile Konoha. The contract was a successful way to end any further conflict between our two clans. The reason why this contract was brought up was because it has no counter action. It is ineradicable."

Sasuke gripped his fists. In all the possible scenarios he imagined himself when he returned to Konoha, this was not included in his calculations. He could not deny that at one time, he had every intention of reviving his clan. It was something he had developed in his mind when he was younger. Something akin to a promise that he would return, safe and sound. It had acted as an odd optimistic incentive for Sasuke to survive killing his brother. Sasuke was no longer that naive seven year old. He was well aware that his mother and father could no longer be brought back. Things could never go back to the way they were.

"Everything has a counter balance," pressed Sasuke, looking for a loophole, searching for some kind of escape.

"Not in this case."

"Tch. Do you think that you can shove some old rotting scroll at me and expect me to marry your wench of a daughter?"

Sasuke's cold voice rang in the lonely street, the cold fury in his voice reaching his eyes.

A flare of chakra emulated from the man, his own blood insulted. Curiously, Sasuke felt another flare to the right of him, possibly fifty metres out. He glanced over, his Sharingan activated to search for any movement. Was this some kind of trap? Some sort of test? Sasuke could clearly perceive three men. The two ANBU and Hiashi. Could there be another?

"You will not insult my daughter in front of me," said Hiashi, his voice menacing and low.

"This contract, unfortunately, is binding and cannot be reversed or destroyed and you will find yourself married to Hinata within two months."

Sasuke turned back to him, his Sharingan fading.

"It will not happen. I refuse to be put into this position."

"By all means, try and find an loophole. Perhaps you might find something that I failed to recognize over the past 13 years. Even the Uchiha had their honor and accepted this as law"

"I am the Uchiha now. I can change it."

Sasuke turned from Hiashi, his left hand punching through the wall to draw out the key hidden behind the long piece of previously hidden chakra imbued paper. He shoved it into the keyhole, twisted it ferociously and wrenched open the door. Clearing a cobweb, he stepped in and thrust the door shut behind him.

* * *

Neji shifted his legs, his fists clenching. 

"Calm down, Neji-kun. He noticed."

"Of course he noticed. I wanted him too."

Lee sat back, his long legs dangling from the branch as he eyed his long-time friend and comrade.

"What are they talking about?" he asked, turning back to the two men.

Neji didn't reply, his Byakugan carefully reading Hiashi and Sasuke's conversation.

Lee shrugged and proceeded to snap his head to the sides, the cracking sound magnified in their secluded area. Over five years, Rock Lee was still lanky and as excitable as he was five years ago, however he was now easily a few inches taller than Gai. His appearance was much the same except for the obvious lack of green as Lee donned his ANBU uniform. He mourned the free movement that the green suit gave him during battle though, something he made known to his team mates who merely shuddered in distaste.

There was a dull slam heard from the Uchiha house and Rock Lee stood up, his eyes searching for the source.

"Sit. Uchiha just slammed the door in my uncle's face. He's livid."

"Who?"

"It could easily be both. Hiashi-sama is just much better at hiding it."

"What happened?"

"…Nothing."

Lee looked at Neji through the corners of his eyes.

"We have to report _everything_ to Godaime-sama."

Neji huffed and leapt of the branch he had been stooping on.

"Neji!" Lee tried to grab at him, but Neji had already appeared by Hiashi's side.

Hiashi scowled at the door before turning away to look at his nephew. Neji had grown tall and straight, his pride and strength seen in his countenance. He was the very epitome of a Hyuuga shinobi. It was something that had caused regret and shame for Hiashi when Neji was ever compared to his shy daughter. Hinata had not proved useless but nevertheless had alien characteristics from other Hyuuga. Things such as her blackish-blue hair and her more full-figured stature unlike that of other Hyuuga women made her stand out. Her techniques were odd as well. Hinata's Jyuuken was unorthodox and the long-standing katas practiced by generations of Hyuuga were lost on her. Her flexibility and speed made for inconsistent and unfamiliar but effective moves. Her affinity with water was un-Hyuuga like as well. Hyuuga never had an elemental affiliation and hers was out of the ordinary. In this way, Hinata was considered weak in the eyes of the Hyuuga elders, a mutation in the gene.

"Uncle."

"You saw and understood, yes?" asked Hiashi, turning to stare at the Uchiha fans painted on the walls. Faded and cracked. The Hyuuga flame yet still burned.

"Hai."

"It would be…prudent to not reveal anything to Hinata as of yet."

"I…don't…" Neji ventured to say, unsure of his position.

"Yes, Neji?"

"I don't think she will be happy about this."

"It is not a matter of happiness. It is for the wellbeing of the Hyuuga."

Neji grimaced, though carefully so Hiashi could not see. This was not for the wellbeing of the Hyuuga; this was to appease the ever complaining Hyuuga elders.

_Getting rid of the weakling. _Anger erupting in Neji as he thought of the cruel fate handed by the decrepit babbling elders who still managed to hold ground in the Hyuuga compound.

And the two men both knew this as they stood in silence, their minds unreadable in their identical pupiless eyes.

* * *

Sasuke exhaled violently, throwing the key into the glass opposite him in the narrow corridor. The mirror shattered, the cracks in the glass shining in the fading light of dusk. Pain erupted up his left side, momentarily paralysing him as his ribs throbbed. 

"Damn it to hell," he whispered as he clutched at his side, the darkness, his only companion in the Uchiha house.

Sighing, Sasuke stood up, opening his eyes slowly to once again gaze on his home. It was not the same house in which his parents had died, but one of the many spare houses used by the Uchiha. He had lived in it since he had left the orphanage houses when he turned Genin. The main house had been perused meticulously by ANBU and scrubbed clean by others. Even then, Sasuke would never step foot into _that _house.

The mirror caught his eye, its gleaming cracks distorting his reflection. He was tired beyond belief, his ribs and burned hands throbbing as he stood. For the first time since he left Orochimaru, he saw his reflection and it shocked him. Those lines under his eyes, once a defining feature on his father and Itachi, now a presence on his own face. His face had become gaunt and his chin and jaw was peppered with stubble. His hair needed to be cleaned and had last been cut with a kunai. It was his eyes that perhaps shocked him. Once he had seen ambition, power, arrogance and anger, now he only saw a desolate pair of black eyes, devoid of near any emotion. This was what made him look like Itachi the most and Sasuke hated it. He hated the very memory of his brother; someone who he had thought had felt some guilt for what he had done. Someone he had thought had chosen Sasuke to be the Uchiha's avenger, to redeem him of his cold murder. The fact was Itachi was none of these. In a cruel twist, Itachi felt no guilt for his sins, he had truly done it to test his own strength. Nor did he leave Sasuke to redeem him, but had left him alive on a whim, a momentary weakness of the heart, planting seeds of hatred and revenge in the boy's mind so that Sasuke would hunt him down.

Sasuke's face contorted in rage and a fist crashed into the mirror, the reflective pieces falling and breaking again as they hit the ground. It seemed as if Itachi had sadistically left a goodbye note to Sasuke. That his own appearance would be like that of his brother who he hated beyond words was a blunt punch to the very solar plexus.

The glass grinded into dust under his feet, Sasuke stumbled towards what he remembered to be his bedroom, his arms knocking into the walls and breaking an old vase. The sound of breaking china registered slowly in his mind, the noise seeming to come from a far distance rather than right beside him. Cold sweat broke out quickly across his forehead and down his neck as he entered the dark room. Blindly pulling open a cupboard, a wardrobe, something, he found that rolled up musky futon and spread it out before collapsing roughly onto it, his body jerking in violent tremors.

The new risen moon, its mottled light shining through the dusty windows, watched as the fit calmed and Sasuke exhaustedly fell into a deep undisturbed sleep.

* * *

Glancing at the sky outside, Hinata guessed that it was still a few hours before dawn. Crouching on the polished wooden floorboards in one of the many specialized training rooms in the Hyuuga compound, Hinata swayed side to side to stretch her thighs and hamstrings. She was dressed in loose black training clothes, her long _hime _style hair tied loosely at the base of her neck. Standing slowly she jumped up, her legs acting as a spring as she caught hold of a wooden beam across the ceiling. Molding her chakra carefully, she drew up her legs so that she stood upside down on the wooden beam. Blood immediately rushing to her head, Hinata drew the chakra into her hands before performing a cartwheel. It took her all the effort to keep from falling as she steadied herself. It was one of the few tricks that Hanabi still admired in Hinata, the precise chakra control and accuracy in her cartwheel often drawing a smile from the quiet girl. Hinata dropped down from the ceiling, a muffled thump as her bare feet hit the wooden floorboards. 

This was the morning. This was the morning on which she will finally gain entry into the ranks of ANBU. After psych profiles and physical tests beyond count, she would finally progress into the simulation course where her physical and mental limits would be tested. This would be her second try. She had failed a year before; the horrors in that seemingly infinite room causing an anxiety attack that resulted in the death of two of her 'comrades' and failure of the assigned mission. Her father had remained silent and walked away and Neji had patted her softly on the shoulder. Neji had passed on his first go when he was seventeen and there had been a small celebration for him. Hinata had been left dejectedly in her room before Naruto had crept up to her window to take her out for ramen with the other Rookie Nine. She was the only one who had failed though they tried to make her feel better by stating all the fears and mistakes they encountered.

ANBU duty for two years was compulsory for all newly made Hyuuga Jounin. It ensured that all Hyuuga were battle-hardened ninja and Hinata, as heir was definitely not given an exception. Hinata had been promoted to the rank of Jounin when she had just turned nineteen. She had perfectly been content as a Chuunin but her father had eyed her with disdain until finally she had shaken off her words and just agreed with him. So it was out of filial piety that Hinata was trying once again for ANBU. It was her duty as heiress, her duty to uphold the dignity and honour of the greatest clan in Konoha. More than once, Naruto had yelled (to which Hinata had silently agreed): "To HELL with the greatest clan in Konoha!"

This year, Hinata had trained for all possible simulations, roughing it out in the woods for two months, training in all kinds of conditions and imagining the most horrifying scenarios before finally running to find Hanabi to hug the bewildered girl.

Spreading out her legs into a front split, she bent down low to retrieve her tea and take a sip. Glancing outside again, the deep navy sky now had a stretch of near fluorescent pink across the horizon. The pink illuminated the underbellies of the grey clouds and Hinata settled into a peaceful state as she continued to stretch her whole body.

There was a small muffled thud as the front door opened and shut. Hinata opened her eyes and gazed towards the door.

_That would be Neji, _she thought as she twisted her arm behind her, dislocating a shoulder blade and replacing it. Neji had night duty most of the time and occasionally they would meet as she got ready for training and he readied for sleep.

"Neji?" her quiet voice carried across the room towards the corridor.

Neji who had walked passed, stepped back and slid open the paper screen door.

"Hinata-sama. I had thought you had already left," Neji glanced out at the sky and turned back to Hinata.

"Iie. I still have time. Please…the honorific."

"Ah…Hai. You will do well this time, Hinata."

"Arigato, Neji. For training me as well."

"Iie. You do quite well on your own," said Neji, inclining his head sincerely.

"How was your night?" asked Hinata, gesturing for him to come in. Neji softly stepped in, hesitating to kneel opposite her. He was dressed in his ANBU uniform, a black cloak resting across his shoulders.

"I had guard duty. Lee and I switched shifts."

Hinata nodded. She would soon be performing the same duties for Konoha. If she passed. Hinata gestured at the tea pot beside her but Neji shook his head slightly.

"Hinata. I won't be joining you for tea this morning."

"Is something wron-?"

"Iie. Just tired."

"Oh. I understand," said Hinata smiling. He gave her a quick smile that never reached his eyes before leaving.

Once the door had closed, Neji crept onwards to his bedroom where it was in the far corners of the Hyuuga compound. Despite the unfamiliar awkwardness of this morning, Hinata did not address it. Neji silently thanked her for that and wished her luck before slipping into his room.

* * *

Hinata hesitated to take the final blow, which was a mistake as the ninja stumbled forward to make one final attack. She blocked the feeble attempt and swirled around to perform one full blast chakra push through his back. The simulation ninja fell without a sound. She gave a quick survey of her surroundings before jumping into a tree and hiding amongst the branches. 

_So far, so good, _Hinata thought as she exhaled and concentrated her Byakugan. It had been a month already and her body was beginning to feel the stresses of the constant running and lack of sleep. Feeling for her pouch, she pulled out a small brown pill, biting it quickly before swallowing. The food pill had been her only source of sustenance for the last two weeks, their food supplies running low as they encountered ambushes and bandits. Their mission was simple; there had been two scrolls that were essential in the prevention of a possible war between Iwagakure and Konoha. One heavily protected in a small shrine and the other, on top of a huge cliff populated by numerous dangerous animals. The Forest of Death was a recreational park compared to this. She had managed to retrieve the scroll on the cliff first, though she had nearly lost an arm when a boulder came rushing down towards her and one of her squad. She had hastily grabbed the other's arm, swinging her to safety before rushing up the cliff, her chakra quickly molded to her feet.

Her Byakugan caught movement and she concentrated harder. She had escaped up to the tree, safely hidden so she could perform the methodical search for the shrine. Her periphery blurred but otherwise kept unforeseen dangers nearby in check.

Her simulation squadron was hidden to the left of her. She had taken up the reconnaissance part of the mission as she had the Byakugan (and of course she had to, she was the only real shinobi in this simulation) whilst her squadron lay in wait to back her up. She was wearing the new ANBU uniform and the arm guards chafed uncomfortably against her wrists. She would have to forsake them if she wanted more flexibility. Her neutral white ceramic mask was held in place with straps and her hair tucked in so it didn't get tangled with her katana that was strapped to her back.

Five enemy shinobi lay in wait on the outskirts of the shrine and she raised a hand, informing her team of the five patrolling the shrine. She concentrated again, and found there were a whole squadron of enemy shinobi hiding underneath the small altar in an underground compartment. Calling up her team, the simulation shinobi appeared by her side, clinging to the tree so as to not draw attention.

"White?" That was her codename. They were all given colours in their trial missions.

"There are approximately ten shinobi hidden underneath the scroll. They are too close together to discern," she whispered.

"Good. White, you are to dispatch the five shinobi patrolling and we will enter from behind and above to retrieve the scroll. After dispatching the five, come immediately to the shrine. You know the drill. You act as the escort."

Her captain, a man with huge biceps nodded towards the two other ANBU and they disappeared quickly, waiting for Hinata to make her first moves.

The first enemy was easy, he had been observing something in the distance when Hinata blocked the tenketsu in his neck, his body slumping silently into the moss. She strangled the next one, his struggling against her making her nauseous as his life force dwindled. She stumbled a few times, nearly confronting two of them at the same time but had quickly retreated into the shadows. Waiting silently, her vision showed her squadron creeping slowly towards the shrine. She finished the next one with a quick tap to the temple, disabling the chakra to the brain and slitting his throat. Keeping watch for her squadron, she found the fourth one, pouncing onto the tree above him and landing on his shoulders, her knees gripping his head to break his neck. The sound of breaking bone made her wince, and she drifted lightly onto the mossy ground as the body slumped heavily into the peat.

_Hesitation will kill you. Hesitation will kill you. _The mantra ran through her mind. These were not the first shinobi she had killed. They weren't even real. She gulped down the bile beginning to rise in her throat and began to stalk the final one.

Suddenly, her subject disappeared, and Hinata began to panic.

_No. Calm. Calm. They are registering your heartbeat. Steady, Hinata._

She inhaled deeply before concentrating her Byakugan. Her squadron had split, her captain entering from the roof whilst her comrades entered from behind. The fifth patrol was nowhere in sight. Until she saw her, running towards the entrance.

She gathered her chakra, using it to accelerate her speed. She flashed before the shinobi and the woman skidded to a halt, opening her mouth to yell out.

Releasing her katana from the scabbard, Hinata appeared behind the woman, pulling her back into the darkness of the forest, her hand pressing hard against the woman's larynx. With a quick slice, the woman was dead, her crimson blood spitting from her neck. Hinata closed her eyes, not wanting to see the liquid red that was so prominent in a shinobi's life. Turning back, she saw her captain give her a nod before entering. She exhaled waiting for the right moment to enter the shrine herself. She had never killed so much people in one mission. In her team missions, Kiba and Shino were usually the ones who performed the coups de grâce. Numbly, Hinata wiped the blade of her katana against the grass and moss, cleaning the fresh blood off it.

Her hands were slick with blood and sweat and she wiped at them hastily also. She could feel her eyes wanting to roll back into her head in a faint but she shook her head. This was not the time to be a little girl anymore. She had seen things. She knew this was how a shinobi's life was. She had been born into it. Hinata readjusted her mask, her still bloody hands making a red streak across the pristine white ceramic. It helped sometimes to think of it as a game but when she thought carefully about that, she realized how sick it sounded. That her murders were a game she played. She'd then revert to her old view. That everything and everyone was out to get her and the ones she loved.

She heard the sudden shouts and clashing of metal against metal. Pouncing onto the roof, she gazed down into the room from where her captain had entered. At least four men were dead, and six more providing trouble for her team. With a low grunt, her captain fell to his side, a kunai lodged in his ribs. She pounced down, her katana ringing as she swung it and rushed towards the enemy shinobi. She barely registered the shuriken that landed in her shoulder, but dodged out the way of the rest of them.

Another acceleration and she had blocked tenketsu in two ninja, their bodies slumping helplessly to the ground. Her team mates quickly dispatched them as Hinata faced the final one. The enemy shinobi grinned appreciatively at Hinata, leering at her chest and abdomen and her eyebrows furrowed in distaste though he could not see that. He was a big man, his dull brown hair shorn against his skull. He didn't look like a shinobi but rather a mercenary.

She eyed him carefully, analysing his movements as he ventured forth.

"Let's see if the little gal has a pretty face, eh?"

"Give us the scroll. You needn't be hurt," said Hinata's comrade from behind her.

With a short bark of laughter, the man threw a kunai at Hinata's comrade and he dodged but still managed to get hit by seven more.

"He multiplies them!" snarled the other ANBU, rushing towards the wounded one.

Hinata turned back to encounter a rushing fist to her face. The ceramic mask broke, shattering and puncturing her face before falling off.

"Ah. So you do have a pretty face."

Hinata admonished herself. How could she have been caught off guard?

She steadied herself, half her face twinging with pain.

Blood dripped steadily down her forehead where the shards had scratched her, and she hastily wiped at it so it couldn't get into her eyes. The man aimed another punch but Hinata dodged it and sliced at his abdomen. He parried with a kunai and with another kunai slashed at Hinata's arm. She exhaled, knowing not to make a sound.

"Hmm. You're not just a pretty face though," he muttered, his beady, black eyes glinting in the dim candlelight of the shrine.

"White, the scroll is attached to his belt."

She rushed forward, the katana aimed at his stomach but he jumped back, throwing two kunai, which multiplied into ten.

Hinata acted fast, throwing down her katana and activating her chakra, her hands releasing a large amount. She made it sharper and stronger as her hands moved to make the barrier. The kunai were shredded as they whistled past the sharpened, concentrated chakra. The man stood bewildered, his hands fumbling for more kunai. Taking advantage of his shock, she rushed forward, two fingers aiming for the base of his neck and shoulder and a full palm thrust to his heart.

Blood splattered onto Hinata's face as the enemy coughed up his final breath.

Her eyes fluttered, Hinata was sure she was going to faint. She'd never exerted herself so much in the last month. The dead weight of the big man threatened to fall on top of her but with a rush of adrenaline, she pushed the man onto the floor. Retrieving the scroll and sheathing her katana, she walked back to the two other ANBU.

"Senpai is dead."

Hinata glanced back at their ANBU squad captain.

"H-hai. Are you two okay?"

"He's losing a lot of blood."

Hinata chewed on a lip. This would be her decision. The final decision that would make her an ANBU. This was where she had failed last time. Last time, it was a simple recon mission gone wrong when the burden of a half-dead shinobi let the enemy ninja catch up with them. She had then been politely invited to a view of what Konoha and her family and friends would look like because of her fatal mistake.

"We don't have any medical supplies, and any towns are miles from here," she said hesitantly.

The girl ANBU sobbed, and pulled off her mask, her blue eyes staring up at Hinata.

"Please…"

"We can't do anything," said Hinata, her voice catching.

The girl broke down, her tears falling on her unconscious team mate.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and watched forlornly as the man's chakra began to fade.

"Nothing can be done. We have to r-rush back to Konoha, Blue."

"I…can't. I can't just leave him here."

"Blue. Go outside." Hinata wished dearly that she knew the girl's name. Knew something that would connect them so she could perform this unforgiving task.

"No. Please. I'll carry him back!"

"Blue, we are shinobi. S-sacrifices are made daily. This must be ours."

The girl sobbed, grasping at the man's hands before running outside.

Hinata kneeled, tears running down her face and thankful that no one was there to see them, her Byakugan searching hazily for the tenketsu.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her bloody hand spreading out over the left side of his chest, her fingers prodding into the necessary tenketsu. She started with her pointer finger, the chakra attacking the chakra coils around the right atrium of the man's heart. Then she began systematically shutting down the heart, knowing that her chakra was interfering with the electrical currents in the man's heart. When she was done, the man was dead, his heart no longer beating. She de-activated her Byakugan, not wanting to watch the life drain from him.

Picking up the scroll and what was left of her mask, she left the shrine.

"The hunter-nin will be here soon," said the girl quietly, her tears silently trickling down her face. She put on her mask and rushed forward to the direction of Konoha. Hinata collapsed suddenly, the pain suddenly amplified. One side of her face was pummelled and her shoulder still had that shuriken lodged in it.

The simulation was over. The body of the woman she had killed before was still lying on the ground, the moss now a gruesome brown as it absorbed the blood that poured from the body. Hinata didn't fight the gag reflex as she fell forward, retching into the ground. When she was done, she slowly stood up, staggering towards the forest.

"Kai!" yelled Hinata, her hands forming the seal. The trees, shrine and girl disappeared in a wisp. She was in that infinite dark room again. Lights suddenly turned on and glared at her. A voice announced:

"Congratulations, Hyuuga Hinata. You have improved since your last trial with minimal failure and a successful return to Konoha. The ANBU move as swift as the wind, stay as silent as a forest, attack with the fierceness of fire and have a defence as unmovable as a mountain. You have proven yourself worthy of the title."

Hinata could barely hear it. She was sobbing, she was sure she was hyperventilating, and there was too much blood. Too much blood on her.

* * *

Sasuke had woken to the sounds of an excited Naruto pounding on the door. 

"Yo! Sasuke! Teme! Breakfast! Now!"

He groaned, his back aching from the uncomfortable position he had been sleeping in for the whole night. His head felt incredibly heavy and he still had not had a shower.

Sitting up slowly, he pulled himself up, ignoring the dull pain in his head and hugging his ribs. His vision clearing, he blinked at the debris he had left the previous night.

Drawers were upheaved, various towels and linen sheets were pulled out of the wardrobe and Sasuke saw the shattered vase on the floor.

Sighing, he stepped over the glass and pulled open the front door, letting a surprised Naruto in.

"Your wall has a hole in…Goddamn. You had a party without me?"

"I'll go shower," answered Sasuke, two fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Uh…yeah," replied a bewildered Naruto, staring into Sasuke's bedroom and kicking a shard of the shattered vase.

When Sasuke came out, Naruto had cleaned up most of the broken glass and vase.

He stood, grinning as a grumbling Kage Bunshin rolled up the futon. He had recovered some old shirts, the Uchiha crest emblazoned on the back but he would still have to wear the pants Naruto had lent him. They fit him surprisingly, though they were tight across the back and shoulders. He had found some bandages and had cleaned the burns as efficiently as he could though he knew they would become infected if he didn't get a burns salve soon. He had been mildly impressed with the large blurry foot-shaped bruise across his stomach and the dark bruises surrounding his ribs before tightly wounding the larger bandages around his abdomen.

"C'mon. I'm starving!"

"Time?"

"Around 2 in the afternoon. Ichiraku, right? Yeah."

Sasuke grimaced at the time. He usually always woke up at dawn.

As they passed the rubble that was once the Uchiha District and entered the bustling business districts, eyes followed the brooding Uchiha and strutting Uzumaki. A white-eyed girl running home from Academy suddenly caught Sasuke's attention.

"Hyuuga."

"Hmm?" asked Naruto, about to pull Sasuke into the ramen shop.

"I have to go…never mind."

"Rightio. THE USUAL, OLD MAN!" yelled Naruto, sitting down at a stool.

Sasuke ordered his ramen, ignoring the long looks that the man gave him.

_Things could never go back to the way they were._

He smirked into his bowl though. Because eating ramen with Naruto was something familiar and Naruto slurping his soup was familiar and all they needed now was Sakura and Kakashi to join them. He shook his head. Why did he feel so lost? When everything around him was familiar?

_Stop it. You're depressing._

They ate in silence, Sasuke enjoying the feeling of being full rather than the taste of the ramen.

"How was your first night?"

Naruto usually never looked up from his ramen bowl to start conversation. Sasuke grunted and nimbly picked up a _naruto _to chew.

"You ready for training yet?"

"Tch. 'Course"

"Ha. Nah, Sakura-chan would kill me if I made you train."

Sasuke propped his _hashi _neatly across the bowl. He could just barely bend down to touch his toes but he wasn't going to give Naruto the satisfaction of knowing that. Though from the look on Naruto's face and the sound he made when he caught Sasuke's grimace as he slid of his stool, Sasuke could tell Naruto knew all too well. Scowling, Sasuke dared him to say something but Naruto just grinned.

Sasuke smirked when he pulled out his pockets to show a yelling Naruto the absence of any money.

* * *

Hinata walked almost blindly from the ANBU Headquarters, dressed again in her black training clothes having showered after her simulation course. The blood had washed off so quickly but Hinata swore she could still see a crimson tinge or smear on her pale skin. When she had dragged a brush through her tangled black hair, she had discovered a forgotten gash in the back of her head that had dried up. Brushing her hair had re-opened it, and blood had blossomed across the water on the floor. She had wanted to scream but knew that from there on, as ANBU she was being monitored. She needed to be in her top form, she needed to show that she was in a stable condition. 

Most wounds had been healed, her cheek had turned a reddish-purple with green edges and her shoulder bandaged. She had been re-fitted with a new katana, a new uniform and a new identity.

She knew she was Hyuuga Hinata. But when she was out on missions, when she was an ANBU, she was the Crane. The official mask ceremony would be performed tomorrow in the presence of her father, a select few ANBU and her new senpai, Uzuki Yugao. When she had come out of the room, they had informed her that five hours had passed. She had mumbled in shock because it had been two months, so vivid were the days and nights that passed in that powerful illusion.

Now, like what she did with all her other missions, she was heading home, hoping to withdraw into her room without being noticed. She would crawl into bed to sleep and to cry and to forget all the glimmer of kunai against throats and muffled yells of the strangled. She was walking in a daze, afternoon crowds rushing past her. It took her a few moments to register the friendly gravely voice that called her name.

"Hinata! What are you doing walking around like a zombie?"

Naruto eyed her carefully, noticing the darkening bruise on her left cheek and the white linen bandages underneath her collar. She started a bit and it took her a little more time than usual to focus onto the bright person standing before her.

"The ANBU entrance exam! Oh…wow! I forgot! Sorry, Hinata! You passed, yeah?"

He shook her a bit too roughly than was needed because he was beginning to understand her 1000-miles stare, that unfocused gaze of a battle-weary ninja.

"Oh. Naruto. Hai. I passed. I'm serving under Uzuki Yugao."

Naruto pat her head. Hinata blinked and even blushed a bit at her slowness.

"Well! We're going to celebrate later! Hey. We're going to see Sakura now. Do you want to join us?"

"We?" muttered Hinata, rubbing a bit at her head.

Sasuke had been standing a few metres back, ignoring the sudden conversation Naruto had initiated with the dark-haired woman. She had been staring blankly ahead and Sasuke had only caught a glimpse before Naruto had pounced forward. He kicked idly before remembering the previous night. Meeting Hyuuga Hiashi was a high priority. There would no trouble getting in, he was sure. But he had either long forgotten where the Hyuuga compound was or had never had an idea. He was sure it was not a very obscure compound considering the wealth the Hyuuga were said to have in their coffers.

Sasuke glanced back at Naruto and the girl when he heard his name mentioned.

Naruto was grinning and the girl was staring.

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up. She was a Hyuuga. He walked forward, thinking of what to say about getting to the Hyuuga compound.

"Konbanwa, Sasuke-san," she said in a soft, hesitant voice, her eyes never quite meeting his. He allowed a soft grunt to acknowledge her. The soft, hesitant voice gave her away. She was no villager, but one of the Rookie Nine. She had always been good at hiding and avoiding attention so it came as no surprise to Sasuke that he couldn't really remember her name. Nor did it entirely matter. He only needed information.

"How do I get to the Hyuuga compound?"

"I thought we were going to visit Sakura-chan?" whined Naruto.

"I have other things to do," said Sasuke, glancing at Naruto who alternated staring at Sasuke and the girl.

"Well, I'm heading home. I'll take you," she said, smiling cautiously.

The last time Hinata had seen Uchiha Sasuke, he had been unconscious, his face etched with wounds and bruises. It had disturbed her to no end that he had come back. She had not known him during their Academy years but his genius, the myth; the massacre always preceded him. To her, he was a dangerous individual along the same lines of the Hyuuga Neji that she had needed to avoid when she was younger. His request confused her but she surmised that perhaps as the last Uchiha, he was hoping to rebuild his clan and perhaps with the help of the Hyuuga. She didn't know that Sasuke would chew his own arm off before asking for money from a _rival _clan.

He nodded, and waited for her to wave a goodbye to Naruto before following her.

He stayed at a steady pace beside her, which unsettled Hinata like a horse without blinkers. He was silent and she was grateful that he was not a talker because she couldn't possibly carry on the conversation. She had decided that her father would have heard the news before she got home, and was even surprised that Neji had not been sent to pick her up. She had recovered a bit since her exam, the numbness was beginning to dissipate and her senses weren't blocking out things anymore though she still felt shell-shocked at how easy…a slice, a twist of her knees, a push. She shook her head and to his credit, Sasuke didn't mention it.

Sasuke ignored the small shake of the head and shudder he saw her make. He ignored too when she all but shied away like a horse when he inched near her in a crowd. She was definitely a shy creature, but from what Sasuke remembered of the small girl, she had always been like that. She had grown much taller since they were younger, her hair was longer, her wrists were slender and from the slightly protruding veins on her hands, he could tell she had worked hard and was quite a capable ninja. From her eyes, Sasuke could tell she was a Hyuuga, but she was unlike the only other Hyuuga he could remember that he thought that perhaps she was of a lesser caste.

Hinata suddenly became awkwardly aware of the long silence between them. She was also horribly aware of her own flakiness, especially when he had come closer so as to avoid the crowds. She had gotten a whiff of his smell, of fire and ash and she had skittered from him. The streets had since emptied as they neared the Hyuuga compound on the outskirts of the inner village.

_Perhaps I should say something? No. What could I possibly say to him? _

Hinata glanced sideways at Sasuke who glanced back, eyebrows furrowing.

Hinata reddened and stared straight ahead.

_What if he thinks I was…checking him out?_

_I should say something. To clear it up. No. If he didn't think anything, then it would be awkward to say that. _

"How have you been?" she said before she could help herself.

_Urgh. Too personal. Bad Hinata. Bad.  
_

"Never mind," she muttered, biting her lip as she turned her head to the side.

Sasuke ignored her. _What an idiot._

Hinata was mentally kicking herself when she sensed the two presences that were following them. She looked over at Sasuke who was staring ahead, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

_They must be his guards. It must feel terrible to feel them and as a shinobi, never confront them. _

She turned back to the front, her feet leading her along the neat, well-kept cobbled path towards the Hyuuga estate. The kanji reading _Hyuuga _painted in royal blue above the entrance to her home could be clearly seen in the bright afternoon sun.

The formidable fortress of Hyuuga loomed before them and Sasuke carried his gaze to Hinata.

"This is the Hyuuga estate?"

"Hai. Cozy, isn't it?" she said, smiling slightly.

Sasuke turned to her and Hinata gazed from an angle at his much changed face.

"You know the heiress, yes?"

"What?"

Hinata tilted her head and her eyes narrowed but Sasuke stared at her with all seriousness. She blinked in confusion.

"Well.."

Before she could answer, there were two puffs of smoke.

Neji stepped forward, his face barely hiding the contempt he felt for the man before him.

"Uchiha Sasuke, state your business?" asked the other Hyuuga, a distant cousin with kind eyes.

"I am here to see Hyuuga Hiashi, I have business with him," said Sasuke, not missing a beat.

Neji glared at Hinata and she stared back in confusion.

"Come this way. Hyuuga Hiashi is attending to some work. He won't be long," said the cousin, smiling and letting Sasuke in. Sasuke stepped in without a second glance at Neji or Hinata.

* * *

Sasuke scanned the corridors he passed and caught glimpses of richly furnished rooms. It was not unlike the main houses of the Uchiha. Much more traditional and larger but nevertheless the similarities were there. The two clans had been alike in their profligate luxuries. 

Sasuke scowled. His quick entry into the Hyuuga compound implied that Hiashi foresaw his coming there. The Hyuuga guard stopped, and bowed slightly towards him before opening the door for him. Sasuke stepped in and the door quietly closed behind him. Hiashi gazed up from his work.

"Uchiha."  
Hiashi gestured to the seat before his large mahogany desk, and Sasuke sat, a leg drawing up to cross over the other.

"Hyuuga," mimicked Sasuke in a somewhat condescending tone.  
The older man didn't fail to notice it and Hiashi placed the elegant brush he had been using down.

"I have been expecting you," sighed Hiashi, leaning back in his chair and examining the young man.  
Sasuke smirked.  
"You seemed to like talking. I came here for information."  
"My, you are an impertinent child," Hiashi stated, picking up the brush again and looking at it. He placed it back down and gazed across the desk at the glowering Sasuke. Sasuke sat back quietly, for the moment.  
"I have spoken to Godaime-sama about this contract. She understands the significance of it and like me, can find nothing that can terminate or withdraw the contract."

Hiashi pointed at the scroll before Sasuke and he immediately leaned forward to open it. Old chakra emanated from the scroll and Sasuke immediately recognized why this contract would be near indestructible.  
"I see you understand the gravity of the situation now. Sandaime himself notarised the contract. It's his chakra you feel."  
Sasuke glared at Hiashi and looked back down at the scroll. The signatures of Hyuuga Hiashi, Sandaime Sarutobi and his father were written down the bottom, their bloody fingerprints pressed into the old paper.

The black bold strokes of his name stood out and he leaned closer to see the seal drawn over it. Carefully reading the characters that made up the seal, Sasuke withdrew back.

"Magnificent, isn't it? The seal. It is so intricate that you would be dead the moment you signed another marriage contract. Sandaime wasn't called The Professor for no reason." Hiashi leaned back, his fingers lacing through eachother, his eyes perusing the scroll he knew every inch of.

"The old bastard," whispered Sasuke, tracing the seal with a finger. He could feel the powerful chakra imbedded in the paper, even in the very ink of the contract.

"Hinata turns twenty-one on the 27th of December. I have checked your records. You are already twenty-one. There is nothing stopping this marriage in two months."

Sasuke looked away, his hands gripping the handles of his chair.

"I had no intention of marrying upon returning to Konoha."  
"Can that be helped now?" asked Hiashi, an eyebrow sliding up.  
"You don't seem the slightest bit perturbed that your daughter would be marrying me, despite all my, what did you call them? Trangressions?" asked Sasuke, his eyes flashing with displeasure.  
"_That_ can't be helped as well."  
"When my family was massacred and I, left alive? What had the Hyuuga done then?" asked Sasuke, his hair casting a shadow over the dark expression he had.  
"Uncertainty on the contract's credibility led us to leave you to your own devices. And that proved successful. I can't say that I mourned your leaving Konoha. It rid the Hyuuga of an annoying problem. For a few years."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and Hiashi remained expressionless as he surveyed the younger man.

"You see the futility of your anger and indignation now, yes? Nothing can be done. It is better to accept your fate."

"Does your daughter know of this?" snarled Sasuke, standing up and turning towards the door.  
"Hinata? No. Not yet."  
"I should meet her."  
"Sources tell me you already have," said Hiashi, his voice eliciting a tinge of surprise.  
Sasuke turned abruptly.  
Hiashi had already returned to his work, the scroll returned to its original state. Sasuke growled in frustration when he realised he had been silently dismissed.

* * *

Hinata had made to follow when Neji's strong hands dug into her arms. 

"Hey!"

"Why did you bring him here?" he hissed as he pushed her inside.

"He didn't know how to get here," answered Hinata, utterly bewildered.

"You're too kind for your own good. You do know who he is, right?"

Neji directed her by her shoulders to her room. Hinata scoffed gently. Neji scowled and pushed her down onto the chair. He began to pace, occassionaly hazarding a glance at Hinata who only stared back. She placed her katana beside her desk, and fumbled with the new armguards ANBU had given her.

She picked at the various things on her desk, wondering what on earth Neji was still doing in her room. The sudden wetness against her shoulder told her that Neji's pressure when leading her here had re-opened the wound. She ignored it, waiting politely for Neji to calm down so he could leave and let her re-bandage it.

"What did he say to you?" he asked suddenly.

"Not much actually. He asked about the heiress. I don't think he quite remembers me."

Neji visibly relaxed before catching Hinata's curious look and pulling himself to his full height.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you so tense?"

"I'm uncomfortable with his coming over to the Hyuuga house."

"Your eyes looked to the left."

"Don't use that shit on me, Hinata-sama," warned Neji before flinching at his words.

Neji decided to change his tactics, he was never good at communicating.

"It won't be so bad. There is still time. Something can be done."

"What do you mean? What is going on?" asked Hinata exasperatedly.

"Hinata-nee-chan?"

Hanabi stood in the doorway, eyeing the pacing Neji and clearly flustered Hinata.

She glanced down at the floor before looking up at her sister.

"Otou-san. He requested you in his office."

"Are…Are the elders there?"

"Oh. No. They're resting."

"Right," said Hinata, standing up and stroking Hanabi's hair once before walking out.

Neji stared helplessly after her and Hanabi stared consciously at her feet.

"He had a guest."

"I know, Hanabi-chan."

Hinata quietly paced down the corridors towards her father's office, wishing she had changed her clothes or taken the time re-bandage and shower again. All of the past few hours were beginning to bunch together in her mind, giving her a slight headache. She looked up to see a rather dangerous looking Uchiha Sasuke walking towards her, his footfalls padding softly on the wooden floor despite his obvious agitation.

"You. Show me where the heiress is."

Hinata was once again taken aback.

"She…I mean…I am...Her"

His eyes narrowed dangerously and Hinata caught that nauseous scent of fire and ash again. This time with her blood, slowly seeping into her bandages, she was reminded of that day in the hospital and she pushed past him.

"I have to go. It's urgent."

Whatever the Uchiha had to see the heiress about, Hinata definitely didn't want to speak to him about it.

He sneered, not understanding a word she had tried to string together and stalked off.

Hinata ran that last few paces towards her father's office, before gathering her wits and opening the door. She realized that she had had a long day and was a little more than just tired. Hinata had always been less than sophisticated when around her father, but today she felt that it was going to be a bit worst. The look on her father's face was near predatory though she wasn't sure if it was directed at her or at the previous occupant of the seat she was taking. She glanced at her hands and back at her father.

Very few could withstand the piercing gaze of Hyuuga Hiashi, and his daughter, the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan was not one of them. He sat behind a large polished desk, the mahogany a deep red, richer than the Hokage's. The desk legs ended in clawed paws and the edges of the table were etched with mythological creatures and summons, the most prominent being the dragon and phoenix, locked in an eternal fight underneath her father's work. He reclined in his seat, his eyes always scrutinizing her actions and words.

"Hinata."

"Hai, Otou-san."

"I assume you met the guest leaving this office?"

"Hai. Uchiha Sasuke, ne?"

Hiashi did not reply. He gestured at the scroll before him and Hinata glanced at it nervously.

"Open it."

She did, with a slight tremble, her throat beginning to dry up and constrict with apprehension.

There was a musky scent and a smell of old performed jutsus as she unrolled it, placing a gold paper holder on the sides to keep the paper from rolling back. On it she could clearly see that it was a blood contract, the bloody fingerprints of three people placed next to their signatures.

Looking at the top, Hinata caught the emblem of the Hyuuga, gold paint emphasizing the curls in the Hyuuga flame. Next to it, she saw the plainer, bolder Uchiha fan, red and white stamped across the old paper.

It was then when she looked further down did she see the words 'marriage', 'Hyuuga Hinata' and 'Uchiha Sasuke' written in bold, black strokes.

Hinata stared at it stunned before everything went black.

* * *

**Authoress' Note:**

Haha...The last part was rushed. I'll edit it. When something better comes along. Or I get flames abhorring my writing.  
I love writing Hinata. Not so much Sasuke. Don't tell me about OOCness. I am cruelly aware. No. Wait. Do tell me and I shall fix. But bear in mind that obviously my story cannot accomodate an absolute 'canon' characterization of Hinata and Sasuke because yeah...

Character development? There or not there? I say not there.  
Plot? There or not there? I say it's getting there.

I've planned out most of the story. Though I don't think I intended it to be an epic, it will be longer than I thought. The plot has become a little less blurry and a little more touch me. I mean exciting. What is it about being half delirious with weakness and sweating out a fever that brings about plot inspiration? Well SQUEE WITH ME, readers! Though this wait has been long! It has not been in anyway, detrimental! Oh. Plotty plot plot.

Um..

_Iwagakure - _Hidden Village of Rocks (not an ally of Konoha)

_hime - _I mention hime-style cut, for Hinata's hair style. It was the traditional haircut of princesses or noblewoman. You often see it in anime. It's these side bangs that are cut really bluntly and then really long hair everywhere else. Thats how I can describe it. It sort of is like that now.

_hashi - _chopsticks (if i'm wrong, please correct me) apparently, it can mean nose too. LOL. Read it however you like.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm excited about my story again. Oh and plus, exams are over. So I've had much more time.

I won't be writing long chapters like these anymore though. I just can't hack it. I like shorter chapters better. Not too short. But like medium short with a scroll on the side.

REVIEW. 


	7. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer Here.**

**Authoress' Note: **

**Sorry.**

…**You should probably read the previous chapters so you know why this story is even on your alert list. And then I apologize again because there's so much for you to read. I like the way I format it? But I'll space out the big paragraphs so people don't cry. LOL.**

* * *

White pupiless irises laced with a lavender tint gazed up at the ceiling unseeing.

_Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha. Uchiha Hina…ta._

Her mouth could barely pronounce the name, so foreign it was to her. She had been awake for at least an hour and had woken from what she had hoped to be a dream. She couldn't even grasp the idea. Her mind could barely touch upon the thought. Perhaps this was the reason why she had felt so apprehensive and unsure of Uchiha Sasuke's return to Konoha. Perhaps this was the way in which she would finally be supplanted of her rightful place as successor.

_Did they think she did not know?_

Why else had Hanabi been left, her forehead unmarked for 15 years? Why else had she been requested again and again to meet with her father and the Elders to discuss her future as a Hyuuga?

Her whole life leading up to this point, they had been watching her. Watching with the famous Byakugan eyes that could read emotion like a book, watching and waiting for her to fall, watching for her flaws, her mistakes, her ineptitudes. And they had found them. Easily.

Yet had she not tried hard enough? Had she not broken every bone in her body as most shinobi have, sweat from every pore, endured every pain and humiliation directed at her? Had she not shown her intelligence and strength no matter how modest they may be? Had she not _proven _herself?

Tears came unwillingly to her eyes and slid quickly across her temples into her pillow. She dared not make a sound, wary of any Hyuuga in the vicinity that might hear her in her teary exhibition of weakness. She clutched at her blankets, indignation vibrating throughout her in being forced into this position. Had she not done enough to prove herself worthy of the Hyuuga?

_Yet_, she bitterly berated herself, _you have always known, Hinata. You always expected that something like this would happen. _

She had kept her tears in check for so long, that it seemed as if twenty years of absolute wretchedness and desolation poured now from her eyes. She had not even cried when she overheard her own father practically disown her in front of her new sensei. She had endured and a small optimistic mote inside of her had suggested that perhaps the Elders and her father would see that. See that she had endured their disdain and disregard for so many years as to finally accept her for who she was.

It was then in this moment of painful reminiscence that she noted her first revelation.

_Neji had known. _

His awkwardness that morning told Hinata that he had known or had overheard this engagement to Uchiha Sasuke. He had known when he had declined their customary morning tea; he had known when he had directed her into this very room, telling her to stay calm. Hinata was overcome with misery at the betrayal. Tears fell faster and she turned to her side as cold tears fell into her ears uncomfortably.

And Uchiha Sasuke. He had been looking for her. Looking to speak to her, looking to meet his fiancé. She found she could find little commiseration with the man who must have been faced with the contract immediately upon his return yet she felt a certain amount of guilt and sorrow for their unfortunate state of affairs. She sighed. She could not be angry with him. She could not even be angry with Neji. She only mourned the powerlessness of it all. She let out a soft moan into her pillow and pressed her closed eyes deeper into the fabric to dry them.

"Hinata-sama?"

"J-just Hinata, Neji," she stammered weakly, bringing her face from her pillow and turning around and sitting up.

"You missed your induction ceremony. Your senpai gave me this. It's your mask."

He held out the mask, pristine white, with an upside down, red triangular shape on its forehead and red markings around its eyes. The nose of the mask was somewhat elongated to form a beak. The Crane.

Hinata accepted the mask and placed it on her bedside table with barely a glance. Until yesterday, becoming an ANBU has been everything she had strived towards. It would have been a stepping stone to respect among the Hyuuga. It would have established herself as a capable ninja as well as a capable leader. Now, it couldn't have meant any less than it did right then.

She clutched at her hands, staring at them forlornly and Neji stood uncomfortably watching her.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I would have warned you but I could not."

"Iie. There is nothing to forgive. This shall be my fate, my own cage."

Neji flinched involuntarily and unfamiliar pity shone from his pale eyes. Hinata dared not look at them. How often had she received the same gaze, the same look that told her once again that she had failed?

"Do not blame yourself. You have improved exponentially over the past years. It is the arrogance of the Elders that do not see this. Your father, I am sure, has seen your improvement."

Hinata did not reply, only letting her long hair cover her misty eyes. Neji stood a moment longer before turning back.

"I wish I could provide more comfort but… as you know, the circumstances with this contract…I only hope that you will come…to accept despite your heart's protest."

"Thank you, Neji-nii-san," she whispered softly, tears falling profusely from her eyes.

She understood Neji's words. It was the Elders who pulled the strings in their Clan politics. As her weaknesses revealed themselves as she grew older and especially during the Chuunin Exams, the Elders began to express doubts as to her suitability to the position of Heiress. She could do nothing but train harder and do her very best. It was during these times that she had relied so heavily on Naruto's strength and courage and her own nindou to never give up, never take back a promise.

Neji nodded once before leaving. As he left he caught sight of his uncle standing beside the door. He bowed silently, his face unreadable except for his eyes, a familiar manifestation of anger as he walked pass his uncle.

Hinata began to stand, looking down at her loose cotton pants and shirt.

"I didn't have the chance yesterday to congratulate you on your induction into the ANBU."

Hinata did not look up, instead she only pulled her chin deeper into her chest so that she could not see her father.

"A-arigatou, Otou-san."

Hiashi's gaze carried over his daughter's subdued form as he noticed her slight stammer and downward gaze.

"I know it comes as a shock. However, this engagement has been in act since you and Uchiha were seven," Hiashi said, moving towards Hinata's desk and eyeing the various objects on it. It had been years since he had last entered her room. The walls were a pale yellow and there occupied a few pieces of art, calligraphy and oshibana. On her desk was a lamp, a few pictures of her team and friends and her katana. He lifted it, placing it in the palm of his hand, measuring the balance and make of the katana.

"These have been made lighter since I last held an ANBU issue katana."

She only nodded in reply, her hands drawing together to be held in front of her.

Hiashi placed the katana back down. He sighed, and motioned for Hinata to step forward. Lifting a hand, he pulled her chin to gaze penetratingly at her face. She had a deep bruise on her left cheekbone and her soft eyes glimmered with unshed tears.

"You are crying?"

Hinata made a face and turned to the side. It was impossible not to cry when she was on the verge of tears again and her father had to point it out. Her father's hands left her chin and drifted down to her hand to lift it up.

"It has been a long time since you and I have had a conversation consisting of more than Clan matters, daughter," he sighed, "It may have been wiser to have told you of the contract earlier. "

He turned her hand and his bright pale eyes stared down at the pale plains and creases of her palm. Scars etched her fingers and one thin shiny scar ran from her pinky finger to her wrist. Hyuuga saw many things.

With experience and wisdom, they could observe people and their intentions from just their eyes. They could read actions and emotions and experiences from how a person moved, spoke, acted and from their hands. With eyes that could see everything, it was hard not to notice even the minutest of details.

Hiashi saw the hard work written into Hinata's palm. The calluses that dotted her fingers told of her adeptness with kunai and shuriken. The long straight fingers and the hardened tips from the constant chakra release in Jyuuken told him that she was as surely a Hyuuga as he was. But most of all, the way that hand shook and clasped before pulling away told him that she was no longer twelve, no longer the daughter he had been so callous towards.

"I was never to be the Heiress, was I?"

"No," he answered, gazing at his daughter who still stood, her face turned away.

"And Hanabi. She will take my place?"

"Naturally."

Hinata gave him a wavering smile before turning from him completely.

"Did…Did I not try hard enough?" whispered Hinata, her voice breaking as she broke into silent tears again.

"No. You were not strong enough," Hiashi stated simply.

"When I became a Chuunin. When I became a Jounin. Yesterday. Was that not enough?"

"It was by then too late. The contract was signed when you were seven years of age. I stopped training you personally when you turned seven."

Hinata's normally tranquil and cheery face contorted with emotion.

_And my fate sealed. Here I was, hoping for change, working to change. Pathetic. _

Hiashi stood indifferent to the soft gasps of his crying daughter.

"Am I s-some kind of p-pedigree? Ch-chattel for you to give out?"

The unnatural bitterness in Hinata's voice momentarily shocked Hiashi.

"It is your duty."

Hinata turned towards him, sharp furrowed brow so similar to his own. It was her nose and lips that were like her mother's.

"You are of the noble house of Hyuuga. Your blood is the blood of the thousands of Hyuuga before you and I. They all did their duty. You will do yours."

There was a fierce moment when a look of piercing rebellion crossed Hinata's face. But all her strength crumpled into herself as she looked upon her father's face. She fell back onto her bed, lethargic and dizzy.

"I can't…I can't do this."

"You will."

There was a tone of command in Hiashi's deep baritone voice.

Hinata gripped at her bed sheets. Could she refuse and run away, disgraced and disowned as a Hyuuga? How could she possibly live as anything else but a Hyuuga though, everything about her and her life identified her as a Hyuuga. Did she have the ability to let herself die because she did not marry Uchiha Sasuke?

The last glimmering rays of twilight peeked over the western horizon into her room, casting long shadows against her wall. Her father looked down at her, his expression cruelly impassive. All she had hoped for, all she had worked towards had flown out her heart never to be regained. Her nose stung but she would not cry again.

"Hai," came the strangled reply.

A hand rested on her shoulder, a quick, hard kiss on her forehead.

A small memory came unbidden to her mind, a conversation she had once had with Neji during a break from training.

"_The Hyuuga, Hinata…with the Jyuuken, it's a double edged sword. I can't feel anything in my pointer finger anymore and I didn't really notice or care. Naturally, the constant chakra would wear away at my sensory nerves there. _

_That's what I thought. But then I think about the Elders and your father and all the other older Hyuuga. After years of use, most probably, they can't feel anything at all. Not with their hands, with the Kaiten, possibly not anything. We may be gifted with extraordinary sight but we lose our sense of touch. The worst part is…I think that when we lose our sense to feel, first it's physically and then emotionally. That's how the Elder's work, that…that is what we'll become, Hinata."_

She had denied this. She had told Neji to keep faith, to believe and to hope. What had she known? She had been kept in the dark for thirteen years. Neji knew from the beginning what it truly meant to be a Hyuuga. He understood the fate of all the Hyuuga.

That is how the Hyuuga work. That is how Hyuuga Hiashi, though he can see Hinata's tears, cannot _feel_ them as he wipes them away.

* * *

The moment Sasuke entered the Uchiha district he realized something was amiss. Nothing was visibly wrong. No lights were on. The two ANBU were still trailing him.

Entering his house, he immediately recognized that it had been searched.

"It will be routine. Sorry, they didn't clean it up. But…it gives you something to do."

"Tch."

Sasuke kicked a closet door close before entering his room, ignoring the blonde Hokage.

"So…an arranged marriage with a Hyuuga. The heiress Hyuuga Hinata, no less."

Sasuke threw the mattress down particularly hard against the floorboards. Tsunade smirked.

" Furious? But hadn't you always wanted to revive your clan?"

" Not. This. Way," said Sasuke through gritted teeth. Tsunade raised an arched eyebrow and leaned against the wall, watching Sasuke kick things up from the floor to catch and replace.

" What? Uchiha Sasuke wanted rose petals and romance?"

" Get off these premises," he replied, throwing drawers haphazardly back into his desk.

" You have an appointment tomorrow morning. Miss it and my ANBU will have your head on a platter for me by lunch."

" Really, the threats are not necessary and neither are the ANBU," replied Sasuke.

" But really, it's much more fun."

Sasuke flicked a sharpened pencil at the Hokage. The shadow clone disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"Do that again, the Godaime really will have your head on a platter," said a deep, quiet voice from outside Sasuke's window.

"And we will have that."

A masked ANBU appeared in Sasuke's room and picked up the pencil from the floor and the remaining writing utensils on the desk.

"But how will I write my letters to Kabuto?" asked Sasuke with biting sarcasm.

"Do you really want to have that in the records?"

"What I want is to be left alone," replied Sasuke, throwing a pillow onto the bed before exhaling violently.

The ANBU was already gone, somewhere out in the courtyard from what Sasuke sensed.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he stalked around his bedroom, picking up various objects from the floor.

He should have died a shinobi's death. Any death.

_Anything that could end this aimless life._

He stopped suddenly, nihilistic thoughts still ringing in his head and a half opened package in his shaking hands.

Sasuke stared bewildered at his twitching hands before piercing pain rocketed throughout his body, paralyzing him. It took everything not to cry out in agony. He didn't want ANBU and he definitely didn't want the Hokage knowing.

Sasuke tried to breathe but his chest, his lungs didn't want to obey. Sweat poured from his forehead as Sasuke struggled to regain movement, the pain slowly subsiding into a numb tingling.

He stumbled towards the bathroom, involuntarily activated Sharingan making his room seem to move in slow motion. A quick look in the mirror and Sasuke froze, gasping for air, ribs hurting as Sasuke inhaled deeper and deeper.

"Itachi."

"Sasuke."

"You're dead."

"No. It is you who are dead. Or dying rather."

A smirk, an infuriatingly familiar glint in his eye and then his tongue shot out to wrap around Sasuke's throat. A sinister rasping laugh.

"I thought you were rid of nightmares, Sasuke-kun."

"Oro…chimaru."

Sasuke choked as wet muscle gripped tighter and slid around his neck.

"Sasuke-kun, aren't you happy being home?"

"Dead," gasped Sasuke as he clawed at the tongue. His eyes were narrowed. Yellow. A snake's. The purple tattoos around his eyes sharper than ever, the pale sickly skin encasing pure evil and malice.

"You're going insane, Sasuke-kun. If I'm dead, how is it that you are choking?"

Sasuke grabbed at anything sharp on and around the sink.

Orochimaru still sneered at him from the mirror, that inhumanly long tongue still sliding tighter around his own neck.

A sharp edge and then a deep slice. Sasuke gasped as the illusion disappeared, replaced with a deep gash on his own neck, dangerously close to his carotid artery.

He was vomiting before he knew it. Coughing and pressing hard against his neck and his nausea, Sasuke slid down onto the floor, still grasping at that sharp edge.

Glancing down, he saw the weapon that saved him. An innocent glass frame encasing blue pressed petals. He looked at it vaguely, wondering why he had never thrown away such a ridiculous gift from a fangirl. He slid off the rest of the packaging and stared at the petals that spelled his name and the blood that had now blemished it.

His eyesight turned blurry and he fainted, unconcious and his curse seal pulsing on his shoulder.

* * *

Heavy footfalls were never heard in the Hyuuga compound but no one obstructed Hinata as she ran through, ignoring the whispering relatives and pulling on her black cloak. Reaching the east gate, she wrote her name with furious strokes into the Hyuuga ANBU logbook, ignoring the staring young Hyuuga male and the brazen glance he gave to her forehead. News travelled fast in her house.

She mustered a dismissive look worthy of her father, and tossed back her long black hair, before pulling on her mask.

She stepped forward, readying herself for transport to the ANBU headquarters.

A small, damp hand touched lightly on her forearm and Hinata stopped, gazing at Hanabi.

"What?"

Hanabi nearly recoiled, never having been addressed like that by her soft-spoken sister. Hinata exhaled slowly, sliding off her mask before repeating: "What is it, Hanabi?"

"Father…Father has told me."

Hinata saw the surreptitious shiver in Hanabi's lips as she voiced this and felt her heart break. The girl's eyes immediately became sterner as she realised she had been caught unmasked, but Hinata placed a cool palm on her cheek.

"You are the new heiress."

Hanabi unconciously leaned into Hinata's palm, unused to the intimacy.

"I…never expected…"

"Surely you knew, Hanabi, why you were unsealed for so long?"

"I wondered…I thought, perhaps, it would be soon, when you became the clan head."

Her eyes were large and Hinata noticed with some pain the numerous bruises all along her arms, her neck. If she had not been a shinobi…If she had not been raised in exactly the same way, she would have killed whoever did that to her little sister.

Hinata gripped Hanabi to her, kissing her on her unmarked, pale forehead.

"I would have stopped them if it were to be done."

Hanabi smiled, one of the rare times Hinata ever saw her do so, but in an instant it had wisped away.

"I'm…I'm frightened."

"I know."

"You do? I don't…I don't want Father…"

"He won't know. He does not see."

Hanabi gazed confusedly at Hinata, not understanding her.

"What is to happen to…"

"Me?" and Hinata nearly blushed at how her voice broke. She smiled before walking back through the gate.

"I have to report to my first day at ANBU and get my first duty. I'm very late. I would never have been excused at all if it were not for my status and the amount of Hyuuga in the ANBU."

Hinata waved her fingers slightly before sliding on her mask and disappearing into obscurity.

* * *

**Authoress' Corner of Self-Pity**

**Hello people.**

**Here's something extra I wanted to add but ultimately decided against for some cliffhanger action (Well, gee, Michelle, it's not really cliffhanger-y now is it?) Oh wait...YES IT IS! Muhaha. Let's all play the guessing game after this:**

Uzuki Yugao studied Hinata behind her paperwork, violet eyes taking in the healing bruise on Hinata's cheek, the swollen red eyes and overall nervous demeanor.

"I trust you received your mask?"

Hinata gazed steadily back at her, pulling her shoulders back despite the wound from earlier and nodded once.

"Hai."

Yugao grinned in approval of Hinata's sudden change.

"Good. As for missions…Head back outside, on the wall next to the door is the mission roster. We tend to give new ANBU simple duties for the moment. That means patrolling, guarding, investigative missions, reconnaissance. After completing a certain amount of these, the hours add up and you get your first mission that will most likely involve a kill and some good ol' life threatening danger. I will check on you regularly so do not ever take it in the head that you can slack off. When I do call you in, it'll either be to see how you are going, brief you on a mission or god forbid, if you have stuffed up. Now…luckily, you didn't have a mission today so check the roster. For now, get out. Remember, ANBU do not have any room for mistakes."

…

**So…here we are. Is this story still interesting you? I'm sorry it took like a year to post the next chapter. This is my final year before university so…if I do want to do Arts/Law, I'll need all the studying I can get. Haha…yeah, that's my excuse. **

**Ugh. My eardrum burst yesterday night, lots of yummy ear fluid.**

**Umm...what else? Well thanks for the continued support. I'm really sorry it took this long. I actually had this ready for a while. But I didn't think it up to scratch. Now you can tell me if it's up to scratch. I'll get started on the next chapter soon then. Toodles. **


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